Monday April 28, 2025
Maven’s Notebook —
Extreme hydroclimate events, such as droughts, floods, and heavy rainfall, account for a substantial portion of weather-related disasters in the United States, leading to significant socio-economic losses involving agriculture, water resources, and public health, among others. For instance, from 1980 to 2024, droughts were responsible for approximately $368 billion in economic losses for the United States, while inland flooding was responsible for $293 billion in damages. In a new study published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, scientists showed an increase in future winter extreme hydroclimate events in the United States, with extreme droughts becoming more common in the Southwest and extreme floods becoming more common in the Southeast and Northeast. The study found that these changes are fueled by increasing El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) impact and regional rainfall trends.
According to the National Integrated Drought Information System, the US has experienced a dramatic increase in extreme floods and droughts in the winter during the past several decades. Coincidentally, ENSO, a key driver of modulating US precipitation at an interannual time scale, has also increased in magnitude and is projected to continue increasing throughout the 21st century.