Why is it so wet, and should we be concerned about flash flooding?

LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. -- This weekend we saw one of the largest rain events this year in Michiana, with areas in central La Porte, southern St. Joseph, and southern Elkhart Counties getting most of the precipitation.

Three cities in La Porte County are in the top five, with Otis, Pinhook, and the areas surrounding La Porte all receiving above 4 inches of rain. North Liberty saw around four and a half inches, with Nappanee rounding off the top five at 3.25 inches.

The areas this rain fell needed it, although La Porte County is one of the only areas in Michiana still in a level one drought. They were also the only county in Michiana to see a flash flood warning.

Through just this month, we’ve heard stories of flooding in Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, and other eastern states, with a total of 3392 Flash Flood Warnings so far this year.

People are starting to ask the question of why we are seeing such wet conditions.

Is the nation seeing more rainfall overall? I would say not, but we are seeing better conditions for flash flooding to happen.

These conditions include either very dry or very saturated soil, slightly warmer temperatures, and increased hourly rainfall. When you have very dry soil, the soil can’t absorb the rainfall fast enough, causing a lot of runoff water. Very wet soil has the same result, but a different process, when the soil can’t hold more water, it causes runoff.

Warmer temperatures can hold more moisture, which is why we see spikes in humidity on hotter days, and with more moisture in the air, increased rainfall is likely to happen.

Areas around the city of La Porte saw around 4 inches of rain in less than 12 hours. The average rainfall in July for La Porte is 4.12 inches, so if you see an entire month of precipitation in 12 hours you are going to see flash flood risk increase.

Again, there could be an increase in precipitation overall, but wilder swings in temperatures and hourly precipitation amounts are also contributors to why the nation is seeing more flash floods.