Megaflood study strikes a nerve in summer of record rainfall
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a report detailing the catastrophic physical, social and economic impacts of a historically and scientifically plausible winter storm on California. New research modeling how warming temperatures could intensify such a storm is resonating strongly in a summer of historic rainstorms. … Recently, UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain revisited the ARkStorm scenario taking the influence of a warming atmosphere into account. His analysis of the “plausible worst case scenario” for a future megaflood revealed that climate change had already doubled the risk of catastrophic floods in California, a risk that will continue to increase as warming continues in coming decades.