Roswell, New Mexico isn’t the kind of place you’d expect to find underwater, but that’s exactly what happened this October. Record-breaking rains overwhelmed the desert town, turning streets into rivers and leaving at least two residents dead, with hundreds more stranded on rooftops. For a town known for its arid climate and occasional spacecraft sightings, the deluge came as a shock.
Unfortunately, it’s a sign of a troubling new reality. Asheville, North Carolina, known for its picturesque mountain landscape, was battered by Hurricane Helene — despite being some 300 miles from the coast. The storm brought over 30 inches of rain, sparking flash floods and mudslides that swept away entire homes.
Montpelier, Vermont, typically associated with serene, verdant hills, experienced its worst flooding in close to a century this summer. Juneau, Alaska faced an unprecedented disaster when a glacial dam burst, causing a torrent of icy water to inundate neighborhoods. Even places accustomed to extreme weather are facing storms of greater intensity and duration.
In communities across central Florida, floodwaters have lingered for weeks after Hurricane Milton made landfall. This recent surge in severe flooding can be traced back to the effects of climate change. Warming temperatures mean more moisture in the air, leading to heavier rainfall, while rising sea levels cause higher storm surges.
Shifting weather patterns are also bringing storms to places that rarely saw them before..