More than 80 million people in the eastern US were under flash flood watches late on Monday, marking still more extreme weather in a country reeling from record heatwaves in some regions, as the US increasingly feels the effects of the climate crisis.
In Georgia, the threat of torrential downpours became a reality on Sunday afternoon, spurring a flash flood emergency in western portions of the state, CNN reported.
The “one-in-1,000-year rainfall event” caused rivers and creeks to swell. Authorities carried out water rescues as homes and businesses were flooded; meteorologists believe that the area could see another one to three inches of rain, according to the news network.
Potentially dangerous weather is not limited to the area stretching from southern Appalachia to New England. In the US west, residents are facing the possibility of power outages on Monday and early this week while temperatures continue to soar.
This weekend, Salt Lake City broke its record temperature for September, hitting 103F (39.4C). Long Beach, California, peaked at 108F (42.2C), breaking a past daily high, Forbes reported.
These extremes come as global heating threatens to make large portions of the US west and south – which are seeing a population boom – so hot they are unlivable.
Nearly 50 million US residents across six states were under excessive heat warnings as of Monday morning. In some of these areas, these advisories might continue until the week’s end, Axios reported.
The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office on Sunday described the heat in the metropolitan area as a “kiln-like environment”.
California’s Death Valley, already one of the hottest areas on Earth, could meet or exceed its record high temperature of 125F (51.7C) this week.
The region could even exceed the highest global temperature for September, 126F (52.2C), Axios reported. Dry conditions, meanwhile, have ramped up wildfire risks.
“Record-setting heat, dry conditions and strong winds are expected in the north-west, Great Basin, and northern Rockies areas,” the national interagency fire center said. “These conditions will increase the potential for significant wildfire activity.”
The center reported 68 “active large fires”, spanning 438,904 acres.
