USA TODAY tackles growing risk of extreme rain and flooding

Welcome to a special edition of Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and the environment. We’re a team of reporters at USA TODAY, here to tell you about our year-long project — Downpour. 

When we started looking into increases in rainfall extremes, we were surprised to find just how much higher temperatures had impacted precipitation across much of America.

Chances are good you have experienced more rainfall or heavier downpours, especially if you live east of the Rockies. Our analysis of a century of rainfall records reveals a noticeable inflection point before the turn of the 21st century, marking the beginning of an increase in the number of extreme precipitation events across the eastern half of the nation.

Or, you might live in one of the areas enduring longer droughts, or wild swings between days of heavy rain or no rain at all. Either way, it’s hard to escape the impacts of the warming climate. Almost no part of the nation remains untouched. 

To understand the effects of these changes, reporters interviewed more than 140 sources, including scientists, experts and people who have experienced flooding or lost their homes in fires and debris flows.

The result is a powerful series of stories and graphics that help readers understand how rising temperatures are driving these precipitation changes and how the impacts connect us all. 

Must-read stories.

Rain.

It’s hard to miss headlines about hurricanes and flooding, but harder to see patterns in the more intense rainfall happening across much of the country. Our research showed clear increases in precipitation over the past three decades. 

At some point during the past three years, more than half the states in the Continental U.S. hit their highest 30-year average rainfall since record keeping began in 1895.

The rising temperatures fuel the more intense rainfall, allowing the air to hold more water and more water to evaporate from oceans and waterways. 

Storms simply have “more fuel to work,” said Ken Kunkel, a rainfall expert and research professor at North Carolina State University.

The wettest rainfalls of the year happen more often in many states, while in the West, fire weather days occur more often as intense heat pulls moisture from the ground. 

As a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned this summer, the consequences grow more dire as the warming continues unchecked. 

“One would think the nation might be galvanized to action,” said Rob Moore, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

But, while it may be too late to prevent the warming, University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann said it’s not too late to take measures to reduce the risk. 

See the changes. 

A century of weather data provides the foundation for this multi-layered look at the complexities of changing rainfall patterns across the country.

In this visual story, a team of graphic artists illustrated what reporters learned from the data, how greenhouse gases contribute to the warming planet, and how higher temperatures lead to intense rainfall and extended droughts. 

Water, water everywhere

Combined sewers.

In the 19th century, the rapid growth of American cities necessitated new sewer systems. Many built sewers combining rainfall and sewage, which carry the mixture to the nearest moving body of water. 

Already outdated, these systems are now being pummeled by climate change. Cities large and small—from New York City to Pineville, Kentucky—are caught in a perfect storm. Urban tax revenues and government funding for infrastructure is falling, while the amount of stormwater stress from extreme rainfall is rising. 

More often than not, lower income families and communities of color bear the physical and financial brunt of the sewage backups that flood streets and basements. 

Our story investigates all the angles, where the problems are most acute, and how not even the newly passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill will be enough to save the day. 

Mud. 

Rising temperatures and more intense wildfires have turned parts of the American West into a landscape where even one downpour can trigger deadly, post-fire debris flows, commonly called mudslides. 

Some 6.5 million acres across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington are in harm’s way. That’s double the size of the hazard from just three years ago — a growing threat that outpaced scientists' understanding of how the phenomenon impacts areas newly in the crosshairs.

Even in areas where the risk is better understood, the back-to-back wildfires and heavy rainfalls more common in a changing climate leave little time to protect communities. 

This summer, Colorado Brown, 28, lost his grandfather, aunt and both parents when a post-fire debris flow slammed into cabins in Larimer County, Colorado. “Everyone told me that there was no way anyone could have known this was going to happen,” Brown told USA TODAY. “I just, I really wish that there was a better way to see these things coming.”  

Runoff. 

Intense rainfall causes myriad problems, but one of the bigger issues is the flow of fertilizers and other pollution into streams and waterways. 

Among the regions experiencing the greatest increase in rainfall is the Midwest, the nation’s breadbasket, where miles of fertilizer-dependent crops like corn and soybeans are grown. Reporters focused their story on Champaign County, Illinois, which has one of the nation's highest nitrogen rates.

Rains that come fast and heavy send thousands of pounds of nitrogen fertilizer into the Spoon River, which flows through Champaign County, the investigation found. Many of these pollutants trigger toxic algae blooms, and eventually many wind up in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.

One investigation in Illinois found that extreme rainfall events cause three times as much fertilizer runoff. 

All ears.

When USA TODAY called, musicians at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, were immediately intrigued by this question: Could you put rainfall records to music to help people hear rising trends in rainfall?

Three faculty members accepted the invitation: Marc Pinsky, Timothy Stulman and Thomas Owen. They took a century of annual rainfall records for more than a half dozen states and set the data to music. They drew from years of experience in digital music and interactive games. 

Extreme weather and you.

Local look up. 

Curious about the trends being seen in your state or city? We’ve got a lookup that allows you to type in your zip code and pull up climate information that tells you what’s happening where you live. 

Your story. 

If you’ve been forced from your home by rainfall, flooding, mud slides or wildfires, we want to hear your story. Please share your experience with us as part of our effort to report on future stories about the impacts of extreme weather. 

Test Yourself. 

How much do you know about rain and the increasing rainfall? Try this quiz. 

And another thing 

Since the early days of blues, songs about rainfall and flooding have been a part of our culture.

From Bessie Smith’s Back-water Blues in 1927 to American rapper Missy Elliot’s 1997 release “The Rain,” we’ve gathered music from many genres into a Spotify playlist. It includes more than two hours for your listening pleasure, including songs from classic rock bands of the 60s and 70s, Elvis and Dolly Parton. 

That's all for this week. Stay dry, and for more climate, energy and environment news, you can sign up to get Climate Point in your inbox for free here.