San Diego rainstorms intensify amid climate change
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Rainstorms are getting more intense in San Diego amid human-driven climate change, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: More intense precipitation events can cause flash-flooding, landslides, dangerous driving conditions and other potentially deadly hazards.
By the numbers: Hourly rainfall intensity increased 7.6% in San Diego between 1970 and 2024, according to a report from Climate Central.
- Nearly 90% of the 144 cities analyzed saw an increase, with an average rise of 15%.
How it works: The researchers divided each location's total annual rainfall by its total hours of annual rainfall, using NOAA weather station data.
- That approach quantifies how much rain fell for each hour it was raining in a given year — in other words, rainfall intensity.
Flashback: Last year's historic January storm brought 2.73 inches of rain in 24 hours with parts of the city seeing more than 1 inch per hour. It caused severe flooding, destroyed property and displaced families.