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Toronto’s drought is linked to Kentucky’s devastating floods
The same pattern that brought uninterrupted rain to parts of the United States this week is also partly responsible for the unusual summer drought we’ve seen in parts of central Canada. Dry grass and wilted bushes are an ever-present reminder of the relative lack of rainfall we’ve seen in places like southern Ontario in recent weeks. Toronto would typically see about 75 mm of rain on average in July. So far this month, the city’s international airport has seen only about 44 millimeters of rain—just 58 percent of the average. Where did all the rain go? Look at the pattern south of the border for an important piece of the puzzle. A large ridge of high pressure over the southeastern United States has kept that part of the world very warm and extremely humid over the past month. This ridge also acts as an atmospheric barrier, gathering tropical moisture flowing north from the Gulf of Mexico and trapping it over the southeastern states. As a result, we haven’t had many opportunities for deep moisture to flow over southern Ontario and deliver our much needed rains. Unfortunately, that contained moisture has fueled persistent storms in places like St. Louis, Missouri, and eastern Kentucky, two areas that saw massive flooding last week.
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Kentucky is suffering some of the worst flooding in recent memory
A stalled boundary over Kentucky on Wednesday night, July 27, allowed persistent thunderstorms to develop and thrive in the moist air that gathered in the region. The storms had a huge supply of atmospheric moisture to draw upon, and these juicy storms kept moving through the same communities for hours at a time. Shocking rainfall totals accumulate to the end of the torrent. Some communities in the region saw more than 250mm of rain by Thursday morning. The rainfall had an immediate and devastating impact on the communities stuck under the storms. Water levels along the North Fork Kentucky River in the town of Whitesburg rose at an alarming rate as rains poured into the hills that make up the eastern third of Kentucky. The previous all-time record at Whitesburg was set on January 29, 1957, reaching 4.48 meters (14.70 ft). The flood of 1957 was a generational tragedy for the region. This week’s flooding raised the river to at least 6.37 meters (20.91 feet) before the gauge stopped reading. Floodwaters rushed into neighborhoods before many residents had a chance to react. The rapids swept away vehicles and houses, causing significant damage, injuries and deaths. “We are currently experiencing one of the worst, most destructive flood events in Kentucky history,” Gov. Andy Beshear said in a state of emergency declaration the morning of the flood. At least 25 people have died in flooding since Saturday afternoon, according to a statement issued by Gov. Beshear’s office, and the total is expected to rise as those unaccounted for are searched among the debris.
St. Louis breaks all-time daily rainfall record
Two days before flooding hit eastern Kentucky, a major city on the Mississippi River saw its own historic deluge. On Tuesday, St. Louis, Missouri recorded the most rain it has ever seen in one day. The city’s international airport saw 219.4 mm (8.64 inches) of rain between July 25 and 26, breaking the previous 106-year-old record, the National Weather Service (NWS) office said in a summary of the event. . (Infographic courtesy of NWS St. Louis/NOAA.) An all-too-familiar situation occurred in the St. Louis metro area in the wake of torrential rainfall. Widespread flooding closed major arteries and flooded neighborhoods, requiring emergency officials to conduct water rescues across the region. One person died in St. Louis flooding after water overtook their vehicle, according to the NWS summary.
