US weather: 'Rare and dangerous' flooding threatens 'catastrophic risk to life' with 100mph storms to strike almost 20 states
"Back-to-back" storms driving "once in a generation flooding" threaten millions of Americans with a "catastrophic risk to life" weather event.A "rare and dangerous" union of deadly atmospheric conditions spanning thousands of miles will this week hit almost 20 US states.Severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and near-100mph winds will unleash the most destructive rainfall in records going back 1,000 years.Eastern regions are most at risk, experts warn, although central and southern regions are under a raft of rain and flood warnings.'Back-to-back' storms driving 'once in a generation flooding' threaten millions of Americans with a 'catastrophic risk to life' weather eventAccuWeatherAccuWeather meteorologist Jonathan Porter said: “We are forecasting a catastrophic risk to lives and property from flash flooding for the first time since Helene brought historic flooding to western North Carolina last September.“Relentless rounds of rainfall and back-to-back storms could quickly trigger catastrophic flooding and people need to be prepared for a life-threatening flooding emergency.“This is a rare and dangerous atmospheric setup.”The US National Weather Service (NOAA) has issued flood and storm warnings across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia and surrounding states.Further east, flash flood warnings are in force as a ‘Caribbean atmospheric river’ offloads across the Atlantic coast.Atmospheric rivers, a more typical Pacific-coast feature, carry huge amounts of moisture triggering intense, heavy and rapid rainfall.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:Regions hit hardest could be battling floods through the rest of the month, with the worst of the floods "not over yet".AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said: “We could see several spots underwater for one to three weeks.“It takes a long time for flooding to cycle through and water levels to recede in some of these areas, and we haven’t seen the worst of the flash flooding yet.”Rivers pushed to bursting are in danger of overtopping through the coming days, keeping the flood risk high after the rain stops.Jim Dale, US meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “The systems driving heavy rainfall will trundle on through the next few days, and in regions where there has already been flooding, there will be a fresh threat of river flooding.A "rare and dangerous" union of deadly atmospheric conditions spanning thousands of miles will this week hit almost 20 US statesAccWeather“Some places are looking at all-time record rainfall, and flooding that has not been seen for a generation.“This is coming off the back of tornadoes and storms at the weekend, and with the heavy rain, there will be an ongoing risk of storms through the rest of the week.”Severe thunderstorms will heap added misery on flood-stricken regions, whipping up near 100mph hail-hurling winds.AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said: “Severe thunderstorms will be capable of producing tornadoes, flash flooding, hail and localised damaging wind gusts of 70mph to 80mph and a maximum of 95 mph.“The threat of strong tornadoes could continue well into the evening and late-night hours, and tornadoes that strike at night are statistically 2.5 times more deadly than those that occur during the day.”A NOAA spokesman added: “The Storm Prediction Centre has issued a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms over the Northern and Central Plains and the upper and middle Mississippi Valley through Monday morning.”
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