Rain is getting more intense in Nashville and around the country
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Rainstorms are getting more intense in Nashville and throughout the U.S. amid human-driven climate change, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: More intense precipitation can cause flash-flooding, dangerous driving conditions and other potentially deadly hazards.
- That's a good reminder to stay up to date on road conditions this week, when storms and heavy rain are expected.
By the numbers: Hourly rainfall intensity in Nashville increased by 12% between 1970 and 2024, per a new report from Climate Central, a research and communications group.
- Nearly 90% of the 144 locations analyzed saw an upward trend.
How it works: Researchers measured rainfall intensity by determining how much rain fell for each hour it was raining in a given year.
Between the lines: Human-driven climate change is resulting in warmer air, which holds more moisture and thus can drive more intense precipitation.
- Hotter temperatures also evaporate more water vapor from lakes, oceans and vegetation.
Threat level: Flooding costs the U.S. economy up to nearly $500 billion annually, by one estimate, and is creating "climate abandonment" zones as people flee for safer areas, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
Zoom in: Tennesseans know the cost of flooding particularly well. Flooding caused by Hurricane Helene last fall devastated the northeastern part of the state.
- The Tennessee Department of Transportation reported more than half a billion dollars in state road damage was caused by the rainfall. That damage included the decimated Interstate 40 bridge into North Carolina.
- FEMA pumped millions into the repair effort. State lawmakers approved hundreds of millions of dollars more this year.