Increases in U.S. Precipitation
The Art
The Science
What’s Alarming
An analysis of “climate normals”, i.e., a baseline of data regarding rain, snow, temperature etc collected for the last 30 years from thousands of locations across the country, shows that, in addition to rising temperatures, patterns of precipitation in the US are also changing. The Southwest is becoming drier while the Central and Eastern regions of the US are becoming wetter. Intense storms and downpours have also increased. More frequent and heavier precipitation is to be expected where temperatures rise since warmer air holds more moisture.
