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Why Is It Raining So Much In Alabama?

Why Is It Raining So Much In Alabama
2. Is the impact of climate change being felt? – It is difficult to pinpoint any one occurrence to climate change, and this is especially true in the case of precipitation, which is influenced by a wide variety of other variables. However, there is a direct correlation between a warmer atmosphere and that atmosphere’s ability to store more moisture and then deliver that moisture in the form of heavy rain.

  • This connection has been observed time and time again.
  • According to Nina Ridder, a research associate in the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre, “with each degree increase in the atmospheric temperatures, air can store around 7 percent more water vapour that is eventually accessible to fall as rain.” This information was provided by Ms.

Ridder. “What this indicates is that future situations, which are likely to be different from what we have seen in the past, will be higher.” We have already observed a rise in the number and severity of extreme rainfall events over the past few decades, and we anticipate that this trend will continue into the future.

  1. La Nia, which was identified by the BOM as a major climate influence the previous year, is currently playing a significant role in the current climate.
  2. Throughout the whole summer, it has been hard at work increasing the rainfall across Australia.
  3. When conditions of La Nia are present, warm tropical waters in the north and strong trade winds from the east promote precipitation to be brought into Australia.

Therefore, when separate weather systems go through the region, it provides them with an additional dose of moisture. David Karoly, Honorary Professor in the University of Melbourne School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, has come to the conclusion that the occurrence of La Nia as well as climate change are likely to have contributed to the increased risk of heavy rainfall in south-east Queensland during the recent event.

  1. This was the conclusion he came to after conducting research on the topic.
  2. The tough aspect is to accurately quantify the increase in risk or the contribution to the amount of rainfall, both of which are unclear,” he added.
  3. The difficult part is to specifically quantify the increase in danger or the contribution to the amount of rainfall.” Over the course of the last several days, Brisbane has been hit with an exceptionally high quantity of rainfall.

(ABC News: Michael Rennie)

Does it rain a lot in Alabama?

According to the Koppen climate classification, the state of Alabama has a climate that is characterized as humid subtropical (Cfa). The yearly average temperature for the state is 18 degrees Celsius (or 64 degrees Fahrenheit). Because of its location closer to the Gulf of Mexico, the southern part of the state experiences temperatures that are often higher than those in the northern parts of the state, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains in the state’s northeastern region.

In general, Alabama has relatively hot summers and warm winters, and the state receives a significant amount of precipitation throughout the whole year. In the southern part of the state, the growing season can last up to 300 days, and the state receives an annual rainfall total of 56 inches (1,400 mm) on average.

Storms with hail are rather common in this region throughout the spring and summer months, although the damage they do is uncommon. Heavy fogs are unusual, and when they do occur, they are almost always restricted to the shore. In addition, thunderstorms can occur at any time of the year.

  1. The summer is when they are most prevalent, but the spring (which is considered to be March through May) and late fall are when they are most likely to be severe (i.e.
  2. November).
  3. During this time of year, particularly in the northern and central areas of the state, there is an increased likelihood of damaging winds and tornadoes.

Dixie Alley is the principal region in the United States, outside of the Southern Plains (also known as the classic Tornado Alley), with a reasonably high tornado danger. Central and northern Alabama are located directly inside Dixie Alley. The state of Alabama is rated second in the United States for having the most deadly tornadoes.

What part of Alabama gets the most rain?

The Locations in Alabama That Receive the Most Rain: Heavy Rain Events – The yearly average precipitation gives you an indication of where you might anticipate receiving a respectable quantity of rain on an annual basis. We have also looked through the Storm Events Database that is maintained by the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

They selected 37 areas that might be impacted by heavy rain occurrences between the dates of November 30, 2010, and November 30, 2020. The following is a ranking of the top 20 in terms of the total quantity of rainfall. The shown quantities are those that have been registered during a period of twenty-four hours.

We have excluded cities that registered several times on the list and are only displaying the highest total for those cities.

# Location Inches
1 Centerville, Cullman County, Dec.25, 2015 10.8
2 Fairhope, Baldwin County, April 14, 2014 9.8
3 Capshaw, Limestone County, July 4, 2013 8.2
4 Hamilton, Marion County, Dec.25, 2015 7.0
5 Grove Hill, Clarke County, Feb.11, 2013 6.5
6 Silver Hill, Baldwin County, July 13, 2019 6.3
7 High Point, Dekalb County, Nov.27, 2011 5.2
8 Cullman, Cullman County, Sept.17, 2012 5.0
9 Hollytree, Jackson County, Sept.17, 2012 4.9
10 Muscle Shoals, Colbert County, Sept.17, 2012 4.7
11 Grand Bay, Mobile County, July 13, 2019 4.7
12 Spring Hill, Mobile County, April 2, 2017 4.5
13 Threet, Lauderdale County, Sept.17, 2012 4.3
14 Hollytree, Jackson County, July 4, 2017 4.1
15 Foley, Baldwin County, July 13, 2019 4.0
16 Sylvania, Dekalb County, Nov.27, 2011 3.8
17 Geneva, Geneva County, June 9, 2012 3.8
18 Fairview, Morgan County, Aug.10, 2014 3.6
19 Geneva Airport, Geneva County, Feb.19, 2012 3.4
20 Madison, Madison County, Oct.28, 2020 2.8

There are a few cities that ought to be highlighted in particular: Rain fell in Valley Head on April 28, 2014, with a total of 2.1 inches falling in only 40 minutes and 0.5 inches falling in just five minutes. The harvest took place on September 2, 2012, after it had rained for 75 minutes and measured 4.3 inches.

  1. On August 23, 2019, Wilson Dam recorded a rainfall of 1.1 inches in under 15 minutes.
  2. According to these data, there was a single fatality that happened on April 28, 2014 in Rosedale.
  3. The incident occurred when two people took cover from a tornado in their basement.
  4. Because of the water, a wall collapsed, which ultimately resulted in the death of one of them.

It is clear from this that storms with high precipitation are not something that should be taken lightly.

Why is it raining so much in the gulf?

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – In recent times, one of the questions that I’ve been asked rather frequently is, “Why do we keep receiving so much rain?” It may be broken down into two primary components. To start, there are these systems that keep going down, and as they do, they stall out.

  1. Areas of low pressure help to raise, but what exactly is being lifted? The moisture from the deep Gulf is being poured in continuously, and it is lifting.
  2. At this very moment, there is between two and two and a half inches worth of moisture in the air that has the potential to become rain, and this reservoir is continually being refilled.

There have been a lot of locations that have received more than 10 inches of new precipitation just in the past week alone. The rain has not fallen equally on all of the people. If you can believe it, one of the drier areas has been in West Mobile out near the airport.

This means that there is really still a deficit in Mobile. Pensacola is the most populous city in the United States that has more than 100,000 residents. With about 55 inches of precipitation over the course of a year, Pensacola is far and away in the forefront. Tallahassee comes in second place with a total of 47 inches.

The next two cities on the list, Mobile and Fort Myers, both have around 45 inches, while Miami rounds out the top five with 42 inches. You’ll note that four of the top five are cities located along the Gulf Coast. Therefore, we should direct our gratitude toward the Gulf of Mexico for continuing to shower us with so much precipitation.

Is Alabama the wettest state?

4. Alabama, with an average annual precipitation of 56 inches Alabama is the fourth wettest state in the United States due to its average annual precipitation of 56 inches. George Dodd/iStock/Getty Images With an annual precipitation average of 56 inches, Alabama holds the fourth spot as the wettest state in the United States.

Because precipitation in Alabama occurs at irregular intervals throughout the year, the state experiences very few instances of drought. The state is located in the southeastern region of the United States and features a humid subtropical climate with consistent precipitation throughout the whole year.

The state of Alabama has an average rainfall of 4.7 inches every month, with March being the month that sees the most precipitation overall. Alabama is susceptible to receiving heavy precipitation as a result of tropical storms and even hurricanes. The southern portions of Alabama are prone to severe thunderstorms, and the state also has one of the highest fatality rates in the United States that is associated with lightning-related incidents. Why Is It Raining So Much In Alabama

Which US states get the most rain?

The 10 states in the United States of America with the highest average annual precipitation.

Rank State Average yearly rainfall
1 Hawaii 57.2
2 Louisiana 56.9
3 Mississippi 55.5
4 Alabama 55.3

What state rains hardest?

It rains an average of 63.7 inches (1,618 millimeters) every year over the whole state of Hawaii, making it the wettest state in the United States overall. However, there are very few locations in Hawaii that match the average for the state. There are many meteorological stations on the islands, and some of them report annual rainfall totals of less than 20 inches (508 mm), while others receive well over 100 inches (2540 mm).

The weather in Hawaii is mostly determined by the influx of water-laden air from the surrounding ocean, which dumps copious amounts of precipitation on the leeward side of an island while leaving the leeward side of the island in the shade. For example, close to the east coast of the Big Island of Hawaii is a place called Papaikou Mauka, which receives 202 inches (5130 millimeters) of rain annually.

However, rainfall at Kona Village, which is located on the island’s western side, averages just 11 inches (280 millimeters) yearly. Not only does Mt. Waialeale on Kauai receive the greatest rainfall of any location in Hawaii, but it also receives the most rainfall of any location in the United States.

  • Between the years 1931 and 1960, the weather station atop the mountain recorded an annual precipitation average of 460 inches (11,684 millimeters).
  • Other states in the United States that receive a significant amount of precipitation throughout the year are located in the southeastern region of the country and along the Gulf coast.

According to the state-wide averages of monthly precipitation, the ten states that receive the most rain each year receive at least 50 inches (1270 millimeters) of rain on average, which is equivalent to 4 inches (101 millimeters) per month. The wettest weather in the country tends to move northward over the summer, and it eventually reaches Iowa, West Virginia, and New Jersey.

The northern coastal states of Washington, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island join the list of the ten states that receive the most rainfall during the fall and winter seasons. Seven inches of rain falls typically during the months with the most precipitation overall (178 mm). Only Florida during the months of June, July, and August, and Hawaii between the months of March and November regularly see rainfall on this scale annually.

Whereas the monthly averages for Hawaii account for significant variation across the state, the majority of locations in Florida have rainfall totals that are very near to the average for the whole state.

The 10 states with the most rain and snow in the US based on state-wide average precipitation.

Rank Year Winter Summer
1 Hawaii Hawaii Florida
2 Louisiana Mississippi South Carolina
3 Mississippi Alabama Louisiana
4 Alabama Louisiana North Carolina
5 Florida Washington Georgia
6 Tennessee Tennessee Alabama
7 Georgia Georgia West Virginia
8 Arkansas Rhode Island Iowa
9 Connecticut & North Carolina (tie) South Carolina Mississippi
10 South Carolina Arkansas & Kentucky (tie) New Jersey

What is causing this rain?

What factors lead to rain? – Water condenses into tiny droplets to form clouds. The formation of clouds is caused by water droplets condensing onto one another and growing larger as a result. When the individual water droplets get too heavy to remain suspended in the cloud, the cloud eventually releases them as rain on the ground below.

  • When you think about it, snow, hail, and sleet are all the result of what? There is no way that all of these different kinds of water could come from the pure blue sky.
  • You must have clouds.
  • However, what causes clouds to form? Clouds can originate from water or ice that has evaporated from the surface of the Earth, or they can originate from plants that produce water and oxygen as a byproduct of the process of photosynthesis.

Water takes the form of a gas known as water vapor when it evaporates, which is when it is lifted from the surface of the Earth and into the atmosphere. Clouds are formed when water vapor cools down and condenses, or transforms back into a liquid form of water or ice, respectively.

In order for water vapor to condense, it must have a solid surface to attach itself to. This solid “seed” may be a speck of dust or pollen, a drop of water, or a crystal of ice. All of these things are examples of particles. The term “dew” refers to water vapor that has condensed back onto a surface on Earth, such as grass or the windshield of a vehicle, for example.

As more water condenses onto other water droplets inside the cloud, the size of the droplets continues to increase. They eventually become too heavy to remain suspended in the cloud, despite the fact that the cloud itself contains updrafts, and they eventually fall to the ground as rain.

  • Ice crystals will develop in the cloud if the air in the cloud is colder than the freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius), and snow will fall if the air all the way down to the ground is also colder than freezing.
  • On the other hand, you may obtain different forms of precipitation if the layers of atmosphere within the cloud, as well as the layers of atmosphere between the cloud and the ground, alternate between being warmer than freezing and colder than freezing.

For instance, if a snowflake falls into a warmer region of the cloud, it has the potential to become covered with water, and then it can re-freeze when it is flung back into a region that is colder. It is able to continue indefinitely, so accumulating more and more layers of fresh ice.

Hail is what ultimately falls to the ground when the weight is too great for it to remain suspended in the air. Before becoming too heavy to remain suspended in the air, hailstones can become rather large within a thundercloud if the updrafts within the cloud are powerful enough. Stones in hail can range in size from the size of a pea to that of a golf ball and even larger! In 2010, a new record was established for the hailstone that was the biggest ever recorded.

Vivian, South Dakota saw precipitation on July 23. It weighed 1.93 pounds, had a diameter of 8 inches, and measured 18.62 inches around the circumference. That might not have been the best way to start your day! The hailstone set a record for its size.

  • Credit goes to the NOAA NWS.
  • Buildings, automobiles, and especially crops are particularly vulnerable to the destruction that hail may bring.
  • However, freezing rain might be considerably worse.
  • When the weather conditions are “just perfect,” a phenomenon known as freezing rain can occur.
  • The falling snow is met with, first, a layer of warmer air, which melts the snowflakes, and then, just above the surface of the Earth, a layer of very cold air, which makes the liquid water “super-cooled” and ready to freeze at the slightest hint of encouragement.

This process continues until the snow has completely melted. Now, when the rain that has been super-cooled contacts the ground that is colder than freezing and things that are close to the ground (such roads, trees, and power lines), break! In an instant, the rain that was on the verge of freezing turned into ice instead.

Everything is covered with a thin layer of ice, which can be seen through in certain places. The layer grows more substantial as more rain falls across it. It is possible for the ice to get so dense and heavy that it causes tree limbs to break off and fall over power lines, or that the power lines themselves begin to droop and continue to sag until they break.

NOAA deserves credit for this. Clouds are the most important component of the water cycle because they are the vehicles that carry water from one location on Earth to another. Clouds convey water across the globe. In addition, they play a significant role in influencing the amount of energy that is sucked up by the atmosphere and stored there.

  • As a result, they play a significant role in modifying the temperature of the air and the surface of the earth.
  • The higher the temperature, the greater the amount of water that the air can contain.
  • The higher the temperature of the seas, the greater the rate at which water evaporates from them.
  • Evaporation is also increased when there are surface breezes.

(You’ll notice that after a downpour, the road dries out much more quickly if there’s a breeze.) Additionally, there is a correlation between the amount of water in the air and the amount of solar energy that is retained, which leads to an increase in temperature.

An picture captured by the GOES-16 satellite depicting the big storm system that moved over North America. On January 15, 2017, conditions across the United States were made hazardous as a result of freezing temperatures and the accumulation of ice. Satellites are essential instruments for meteorologists and other types of scientists that study the atmosphere.

Scientists now have the ability, thanks to modern weather satellites, to obtain information on how clouds seem from above as well as how high they are. For the purpose of researching hurricanes, precipitation, and rainfall, scientists make use of data obtained from satellites of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series as well as data obtained from NASA’s Global Precipitation Mission.

What is causing so much rain?

Volumes of precipitation that are ‘unprecedented’ in terms of history – In Kentucky, where at least 37 people lost their lives, and in Missouri, where two people lost their lives, the burden that these disasters put on communities and governments to prepare for them was clear.

  1. According to the National Weather Service, there were periods when it rained in Kentucky at a rate of more than four inches per hour.
  2. This caused several houses and sections of villages to be destroyed.
  3. According to estimates derived from radar collected by the National Weather Service, a tiny section in the eastern portion of the state received between 14 and 16 inches of rain over the course of four days.

According to what was said, this is “historically unheard-of,” and there is a possibility of fewer than one in a thousand that this amount of rain will fall in a given year. In the earlier part of same week, the Weather Service reported that 7.68 inches of rain had fallen in a period of six hours in the east-central part of Missouri.

  • This was an occurrence that also had a probability of occuring once every year of 0.1 percent.
  • The region in and around St.
  • Louis was struck particularly hard by the deluge, and as a result, inhabitants were had to evacuate their houses on inflatable boats when highways were completely flooded with water.

According to the Weather Service, the torrential downpour that occurred on July 25 and 26 was the single most precipitous weather event that has occurred in St. Louis since records began being kept in 1874. In the span of around 12 hours, the region received close to a quarter of an average year’s worth of precipitation.

According to Neil Fox, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Missouri, the excessive rainfall in Missouri was produced by thunderstorms that developed repeatedly in the same location. This phenomenon is known as “training” among meteorologists. The storms that caused the significant rainfall in Illinois and Kentucky were driven by training, which is a regular cause of severe rainfall.

Professor Fox said that the amount by which the records were broken was comparable to someone breaking the world record for the 100-meter dash by a second or something similar. “When compared to the prior record, this is an astounding growth.” The rainfall that occurred in Illinois this week was not as severe as previous weeks, and no fatalities were recorded; but, the downpour caused flash floods and destroyed crops.

  • According to the National Weather Service, the largest amount of rainfall that was observed during the storm was seven inches.
  • This amount of rainfall has a 1–2 percent probability of occuring in any given year.
  • According to Nicole Albano, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Lincoln, Illinois, “We generally receive a little more than three inches in the month of August, and we got five to seven inches just in the first two days here of August,” “That’s a really large chunk of change.” As a result of climate change, which is produced by the burning of fossil fuels like oil and gas, the United States and other regions of the world have experienced a rise in the frequency of intense rainstorms.

This trend can also be seen in other parts of the world. As the warming trend continues, it is anticipated that there will be more frequent occurrences of these intense downpours. Angeline Pendergrass, an assistant professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, who studies severe precipitation, stated that “we also predict the heaviest conceivable precipitation events at any given site to grow heavier as temperature increases.” This indicates that we should anticipate a greater number of precipitation records being broken than we would have had we not been experiencing global warming.

Is 1 inch of rain in 24 hours a lot?

A quarter of an inch (0.25) of precipitation is equivalent to a light rain that lasts for two to three hours, a moderate rain that lasts for thirty to sixty minutes, or a heavy downpour that lasts for fifteen minutes. There would be a great deal of standing water on the ground, and it would be difficult to dry it off.

  • Rainfall of half an inch (0.5) — A light rain will never reach this quantity, moderate rain will last for one to two hours, and heavy rain will last for thirty to forty-five minutes.
  • There would be deep pools of standing water, and they would remain there for a significant amount of time.
  • Rainfall of three-quarters of an inch (0.75 inches) — This amount is never reached by light or moderate rain and heavy rain often lasts for two to four hours.

Long stretches of time would pass with deep water that was just standing there. A light to moderate rain will never reach this amount, but it will be heavy for several hours if there is one inch of precipitation (2-5 hours). Long stretches of time would pass with deep water that was just standing there.

What is the rainy season in Alabama?

Greater than a 27% likelihood of precipitation falling on any given day during the wetter season, which extends from March 24 through December 12 and lasts 8.6 months in total. In Alabama, the month of June typically sees the greatest rainfall, with an average of 10.4 days receiving at least 0.04 inches of precipitation during the course of the month.

What are the most rainiest months?

The National Centers for Environmental Information reports that the month of April is actually the sixth wettest month in the United States. On average, the month of June is the wettest of the year, but May 2015 was the wettest month in the history of the United States.

Does it rain a lot in April in Alabama?

Alabama Gulf Coast –

Average monthly precipitation in April

Days Place Inches Milli­metres
7 Bay Minette 5.4 137
6 Coden 5.3 134
7 Dauphin Island 5.2 131
8 Fairhope 5.5 140
8 Mobile 5.7 145

What is tornado season in Alabama?

The months of March through May in Alabama have the most intense tornado activity each year. Nevertheless, there is a secondary season in the fall that produces a significant number of tornadoes throughout the months of November and December. This season occurs between September and November. “Alabama Tornadoes by Month 1950–2021.” (en inglés) accessed on the 9th of June, 2022.