Roswell, New Mexico Latest Victim Of Epic Flooding

 The latest victim of an extreme rain storm and flood is Roswell, New Mexico.

Scary scenes in Roswell, New Mexico Sunday after extreme
flash floods overwhelmed the city. 

The intense downpours Saturday sent the Spring River channel blasting through downtown Roswell and other neighborhoods in town. At least two people have died.  

Video taken Sunday of the flood aftermath shows cars and trucks strewn like toys thrown around by a toddler having a temper tantrum.

 The force of the water pulled pavement from streets and knocked down sturdy metal fences and barriers. 

At least 300 people were rescued from the floodwaters and 38 of them were taken to hospitals. 

Roswell, population of about 48,000 is of course famous for an alleged UFO crash there in 1947. 

A storm dumped 5.78 inches of rain on Roswell Saturday, the most for any day on record there. The old record was 5.65 inches on November 1, 1901.  Up to nine inches of rain fell in some areas near the city. 

Most of that rain came in just six hours, and was almost half Roswell's normal annual rainfall. 

The flood came right after the end of a heat wave that broke all kinds of records for intensity, longevity and how late in the season it was.

That heat ended as an upper level storm system drew tropical air northward into the mountains and hills of the Southwest.  Large high pressure in the southeastern United States directed moisture toward New Mexico, where atmospheric moisture reached two to three times normal levels.

The most intense storms developed in eastern New Mexico, especially in and around Roswell. 

The Roswell flood is the latest in a long, frequent series of record floods this year in the United States and around the world. 

Though it sometimes is difficult to pin a particular weather event on climate change, what happened in Roswell is consistent with the global problem. 

A warmer atmosphere holds more water than a drier one, so under the right conditions, rainfall will be heavier than it would have been in a cooler world.

This is also the second time this year parts of New Mexico have endured an extreme flood.

Back in the spring, wildfires denuded the hills and mountains surrounding Ruidoso, New Mexico. Then in the late spring and summer, torrential storms hit those hills, sending destructive flash floods and debris flows into Ruidoso, causing extensive damage.