<
https://theconversation.com/think-storms-are-getting-worse-rapid-rain-bursts-in-sydney-have-become-at-least-40-more-intense-in-2-decades-194159>
"A series of major floods in Australia has made global headlines in recent
years. People around the world were shocked to see Sydney, the city known for
the 2000 Olympics, the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, sunshine and Bondi
beach culture inundated with flash floods this year. But were these floods a
freak occurrence or a sign of things to come?
Our research has found an alarming increase of at least 40% in the rate at
which rain falls in the most intense rapid rain bursts in Sydney over the past
two decades. This rapid increase in peak rainfall intensity has never been
reported elsewhere, but may be happening in other parts of the world.
Our findings, published today in
Science, have major implications for the
city’s preparedness for flash flooding. More intense downpours are likely to
overwhelm stormwater systems that were designed for past conditions.
The chart below shows the increases in the rate of rainfall of rapid rain
bursts for each of three weather radars (at Newcastle, Terrey Hills and
Wollongong). All radars showed a rate of change of at least 20% per decade.
To increase our confidence, we also calculated the change for rapid rain bursts
observed by two radars (Wollongong and Terrey Hills) at the same time. The
rates of change in these storms are much higher (80-90% per decade) than for
storms detected only by a single radar station.
One possible explanation could be these are more extreme storms that are well
developed and can be seen by two radars simultaneously. So, it is possible that
the change in rainfall rates for well-developed rapid rain bursts is even
greater."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
