Extensive flooding in the US Midwest resulted from a combination of melting snow, a bomb cyclone storm, and climate change. Over 100 rivers hit major or moderate flood stages, with many reaching historic levels, forcing thousands Nebraska and Iowa residents to evacuate. The National Weather Service issued an emergency flash flood watch for parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. This convergence of weather events was helped by a warm climate, which has increased rainfall by 40% since 1958.
Extensive flooding in the US Midwest resulted from a combination of melting snow, a bomb cyclone storm, and climate change. Over 100 rivers hit major or moderate flood stages, with many reaching historic levels, forcing thousands Nebraska and Iowa residents to evacuate. An extremely wet winter, with snowfall 20 inches higher than average, meant the region was already on the cusp of flooding before the bomb cyclone's record-low pressure and 100 mph winds dropped huge volumes of precipitation over the area. This convergence of weather events was helped by a warm climate, which has increased rainfall by 40% since 1958.