Flash Flood Season: Huge, Abrupt Torrents Seem To Be Popping Up Everywhere

Severe flash flooding in India this week  Seems like these
floods are popping up incredibly frequently this week.

 Despite widespread drought in some parts of the Northern Hemisphere, as always there are spots that are too wet. 

Droughts seem worse these days with climate change, but so do the rain storms. 

Flash floods are popping up seemingly everywhere.  Monday was just one very busy example.

Just in the past day or so, some real troublesome inundations have occurred in India, in England, especially around London, in Japan, and in the northeastern United States.

It's even possible a few spots in Vermont could get into the flash flood act later this week. More on that in a moment.

First, as they say, the news:

INDIA

Monsoon rains triggered huge flash floods in hilly parts of India this week. Social media is full of videos depicting cars being swept away as water, mud and rocks roar through towns and villages.  The videos show houses and buildings collapsing or 

At least one person has died in the flooding and roughly a dozen are missing.  Lightning accompanying the storms was less destructive, but far more deadly.  Reports indicate around 40 Indians have died this week from being struck by lightning.

ENGLAND

Torrential rains swept through parts of southeastern England, including London on Monday, dumping two inches of rain in very short periods of time. Streets quickly went under water.

London Fire Brigade fielded more than 1,000 flood-related calls, the BBC reported. 

Many homes were badly damaged by flooding, including that owned by Brian May, guitarist for the group Queen.

At least 120 people were put up in hotels after flooding made homes uninhabitable.  Streets were blocked by floodwaters, and trains stopped running due to water on the tracks. Water poured down stairs into parts of the London Tube. Yeah, quite a mess.

JAPAN

Japan is already reeling from a dramatic flash flood and mud slide last week that killed 9 people and left 20 missing at last check.  New flooding hit Monday.  This time it wasn't quite as bad, but the media center for the upcoming Summer Olympics flooded.

UNITED STATES:

A flash flood emergency was declared in northeastern Philadelphia and towns to the north of there after torrential thunderstorms stalled over the region. Philadelphia had 2.42 inches of rain in just an hour. Parts of Bucks County, Pennsylvania received six to 10 inches of rain in just three or four hours.

No surprise, then, that lots of people had to be rescued from flooded cars and buildings. Probably hundreds of homes suffered damage.  

Water rescues in Pennsylvania Monday after six to 10 inches of
rain fell in under four hours in some areas.

This is just the continuation of a week of flash flooding in various parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States. The first half of July has been super wet there, so no surprise with the flooding. 

New York City has already had 8.5 inches of rain so far this month, which is nearly seven inches more than normal.

Today, flash flooding is a good possibility again, especially in western New York,  and in Arizona and southern Utah, where monsoon moisture is streaming in. 

VERMONT RAIN

Here in Vermont, we'll have to watch slow moving showers and thunderstorms, especially later in the week.

We have had trouble getting rain to fall in far northern Vermont, which remains on the dry side. A band of rain went through that part of the state this morning, so that helped a little.  

The further south you go in Vermont, the wetter this month  has been. Soil moisture has actually gone above normal down there, so torrential downpours, especially if they last a long time or hit the same spots over and over again, could cause local flash flooding during the rest of this week. 

There's a chance of that tomorrow, as a wave of showers and storms is expected to move through. A few storms could have torrential rain in a few spots. 

A possibly bigger risk of torrential downpours exists Friday and possibly Saturday, we'll have to wait and see on that.