Journal article
Deadly Compound Heat Stress‐Flooding Hazard Across the Central United States
Geophysical research letters, Vol.47(15), e2020GL089185
08/16/2020
DOI: 10.1029/2020GL089185
Abstract
While major advances have been made toward understanding flooding across the central United States, little is known about the linkage between heat stress, characterized by high temperature and humidity, and flooding during the summer in this area. Here, we focus on a compound event that relates these two hazards; we find that a high percentage of floods are preceded by a heat stress event. The potential impacts are significant, leading to overwhelming the current infrastructure (e.g., damaged roads, hospitals, and power grid) and to a high number of fatalities and economic damage. We show that heat stress is tied to high surface temperatures, sensible heat flux, and humidity, which all tend to enhance convective available potential energy (CAPE) and stormy weather, frequently resulting in flooding. Given that heat stress is projected to become more frequent and intense, our findings point to an associated enhanced risk of flooding throughout this area.
Key Points
Summer floods in the central United States are often preceded by a heat stress event
Heat stress is tied to high temperatures, sensible heat flux, and humidity, which all tend to enhance convective available potential energy
The conditions associated with heat stress lead to storm weather, heavy precipitation, and then flooding
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Deadly Compound Heat Stress‐Flooding Hazard Across the Central United States
- Creators
- Wei Zhang - University of IowaGabriele Villarini - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Geophysical research letters, Vol.47(15), e2020GL089185
- DOI
- 10.1029/2020GL089185
- ISSN
- 0094-8276
- eISSN
- 1944-8007
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- IIHR‐Hydroscience & Engineering\r\nIowa Flood Center\r\nDOD | United States Army | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/16/2020
- Academic Unit
- IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984066352402771
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