Texas, flash flood
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More than 111 people have died across six counties after flash flooding from heavy rain began affecting the state last week.
A flash flood is a rapid rise of water along a stream or in a low-lying urban area, the National Weather Service said. Flash flooding can result from slow-moving thunderstorms, from numerous thunderstorms that develop repeatedly over the same area, or from heavy rains associated with tropical cyclones.
Recent flash flooding in Texas, New Mexico and North Carolina is highlighting the extreme danger of these natural disasters and the need to be prepared.
The mountain village of Ruidoso has returned to the grim rituals of rebuilding from flash flooding. Crews are working to clear twisted metal, broken trees and muddy debris from streets and homes days after monsoon rains triggered a deadly flash flood in southern New Mexico.
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Major I-95 cities -- Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia -- could be impacted as heavy downpours could bring 2-3 inches of rainfall per hour over already saturated soils, which could easily cause flash flooding.
There are reports some cloud seeding occurred a few days before the Texas flash flood. But it’s important to understand that cloud seeding has a relatively short-term effect in that a certain cloud is seeded and perhaps turns into one individual rain cloud or even a thunderstorm. The increased rainfall would not last for days.
With the recent deadly flash floods in Texas and New Mexico, it's important to remember that monsoon season has begun for the southwestern part of our country and flooding is one of the hazards that comes along with it.
At 9:54 p.m. on Wednesday, the NWS Raleigh NC issued a flash flood warning in effect until Thursday at 1 a.m. for Wake County.
Mayor Lynn Crawford said hearts are broken over the lives lost and stomachs are in knots as residents begin to take stock of the damage.
Rain came down fast and hard Wednesday night in Chicago, creating some hazardous situations not only for drivers, but for first responders who were busy rescuing people who were stuck in high waters.
At least three people were killed by historic flash floods in a New Mexico mountain community that suffered devastating wildfires last year, officials said late Tuesday.