Vermont Inundated as 1-in-1,000-Year Rainfall Event Destroys Homes, Prompts Rescues

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5. AP: Why does Vermont keep flooding? It's complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm

https://apnews.com/article/vermont-flooding-climate-change-severe-weather-3f1e3c5f55a69cd75d5b5ad0f31792f3

Why does Vermont keep flooding? It’s complicated, but experts warn it could become the norm

BY PATRICK WHITTLE AND MICHAEL CASEY
Updated 3:50 PM EDT, July 31, 2024

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A combination of factors leaves Vermont susceptible to these kinds of devastating floods. Here’s a look at a few, along with photos and video from the latest storms.

Climate change warming the atmosphere
Extreme flooding conditions like these are often the result of random, short-term natural weather patterns heightened by long-term, human-caused climate change.

With climate change, storms are forming in a warmer atmosphere, making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality. The additional warming that scientists predict is coming will only make it worse, with the Northeast U.S. among the regions vulnerable to heavier rains in the future.

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A study last year in the journal Climate Change found that extreme precipitation in the Northeast will increase 52% by the end of the century. One of the study’s authors, Jonathan Winter, an associate professor of geography at Dartmouth College, also took part in research that found there had been a 50% increase in extreme precipitation events from 1996 to 2014.

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