Unpredictability of Mother Nature: The Impacts of Rainfall from Dorian and Imelda

In late August, Dorian began as a tropical wave. By September 1st, it had rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane and proceeded to sit stationary over the Bahamas wreaking havoc. After about a day or so, Dorian weakened considerably and proceeded northwest to parallel the east coast, starting in Florida. It did not make landfall until reaching North Carolina as a Category 1 on September 6th. The storm’s slower-moving nature allowed several states on the east coast to take extensive precautions by declaring states of emergency and enforcing mandatory evacuations. Luckily, much of the storm’s impacts to the U.S. were relatively minor.

In a very different unfolding of events, Imelda intensified in southeast Texas this week. Within several hours, Imelda was upgraded to a Tropical Storm that over the following few days became the fifth-wettest tropical cyclone on record in the continental United States; the rate at which it intensified limited the timeframe with which to respond and take precautions. Several areas experienced rainfall intensities greater than those experienced during Hurricane Harvey, which hit the Texas coast a mere 2 years ago.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Jerry is gaining strength near St. Maarten and Barbuda.