Sep 6, 2021 - Energy & Climate

Hurricane Ida-battered Southern states face new flash flooding threat

Rebecca Falconer

Several feet of sand covers a road in the wake of Hurricane Ida on September 4, 2021 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. — Several feet of sand covers a road in the wake of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, Louisiana, on Saturday. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Southern state residents still hit by widespread power outages and repairing homes in the wake of the deadly Hurricane Ida faced a fresh threat of flash flooding from another storm system Monday.

Driving the news: The National Weather Service said the region was facing the threat of thunderstorms, "locally heavy rains, isolated flash flooding and the risk of severe weather from the Upper Mississippi Valley through the Great Lakes from Monday night into Tuesday."

NWS meteorologist Lara Pagano told Reuters storms that could produce up to three inches of rain "in a pretty short period of time" were already soaking parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, including New Orleans.

The big picture: Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana as a powerful Category 4 storm on Aug. 29 and made landfall twice in the state.

At least 13 deaths have been linked to Ida and nearly 483,000 people were still without power on Monday evening.

Context: Climate change exacerbates extreme precipitation events, Axios' Andrew Freedman notes.

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Hurricane Ida-battered Southern states face new flash flooding threat

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