00:00AccuWeather's analysis of nearly 60 years of rainfall data shows that across the contiguous United States or lower 48, annual rainfall totals have barely changed.
00:13But the rain that does fall is arriving harder, faster, and in more dangerous bursts.
00:19We found that the intensity of rainfall is steadily increasing, especially when you're talking 2, 3, 4 inch amount of rainfall.
00:26That's where we're seeing the biggest increase, especially over the past 20, 30 years or so.
00:31Experts say the reason is simple. Warmer air holds more moisture.
00:35With climate change, the atmosphere is warming. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, more water vapor.
00:43So for every degree Celsius or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature, we're seeing a 7% increase in the amount of water vapor held in the atmosphere.
00:53Those intense downpours overwhelm roads, storm drains, and pipes designed for a much different era.
01:00We have a lot of old plumbing, obviously, and that's costly to replace.
01:04And boy, I'll tell you what, we have a lot more pavement out there, too.
01:07Populations are growing in the southern United States, coastal areas as well.
01:11So that heavy rain that comes down does not get absorbed by the soil.
01:15Instead, it just runs off and collects in the lower areas where it leads to flooding.
01:19The impacts stretch from cities to farmland.
01:23Farmers hate extremes. They like average conditions, normal conditions.
01:27But when you're dealing with extremes, you can get rapid erosion of your cornfield, for instance.
01:33Muddy fields that can last for weeks and they can't get planting in.
01:36From farming challenges to infrastructure upgrades, the cost of heavier rain are already adding up, and experts warn insurance is no exception.
01:44Insurance costs are rising as we speak, and they likely can continue to rise because more people are moving into areas that are prone to extreme rainfall.
01:54And the pace of broken records shows no signs of slowing.
01:57We're constantly seeing records broken much more than they used to be.
02:01It's almost a yearly thing when we see more records being broken in terms of rainfall and flooding.
02:06So climate has clearly changed over the past 10, 20 years or so, and it's going to continue to change and become much more extreme.
02:13AccuWeather's research makes the message clear.
02:15Annual rainfall totals may not be rising, but the storms are, and knowing your flood risk has never been more important.
02:22For AccuWeather, I'm meteorologist Tony Laubach.
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