Meteorology and You

Common Core State Standard: ELA: Reading Informational Text (3.1-10 through 8.1-10)

Flooding
Across America, we have a wide range of different weather. Some areas are more
prone to tornado outbreaks, some spots have hurricanes. One thing we all have
in common is flooding. Given enough precipitation, any area could see de-
structive flooding. Here in Connecticut, we’ve seen it in the past, and we’ll see
it again.

How much rain does it take to get a flood?

This all depends on soil moisture and precipitation rate, but typically 2 or
more inches of rain will lead to flooding. Two inches of rain doesn’t sound
like a lot, but think of it this way: 2 inches of rain is equivalent to 20 inches of
snow! That’s a lot for the ground to soak up.

The easiest way to get flooding around this area is when you have a stream of moisture coming up from 1955 Naugatuck Flood
the tropics. This can occur during a tropical storm, as we did with Irene back in 2011, or during simple
heavy rains, like back in March of 2010. Tropical storms have historically led to some of our most prob-
lematic floods.

1955
Back in August of 1955, the remnants of two consecutive hurricanes named Connie and Diane passed by
our area. The hurricanes themselves weakened by the time they reached us, but they did have very heavy
rains with them. Connie dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain over Connecticut, which caused a few puddles and
some minor flooding. Immediately afterwards, Diane moved in and caused heavy rain for several days.
Most of the state picked up an additional 12 to 15 inches of rain! These floods killed 87 people and
caused major damage to more than 2,400 homes. These are considered the worst floods in Connecticut
in the past 100 years.

1982
You don’t always need a hurricane to have terrible flooding. In June of 1982, two days of very heavy rain
brought around 5 to 10 inches of rain to southern Connecticut. Thousands of roads were washed out and
many bridges were destroyed. This was all caused by a low pressure system that stalled over the area,
and the flood waters picked up as the clouds emptied their contents. Flooding in Groton

Lightning Quick

Did You Know Activity

Flash flooding is the number two killer of people
in America due to weather. The only other weather
event that is more deadly every year is a heat
wave. Flash flooding is a rapid rise in water level,
which can then wash away houses and cars.
Driving across a flooded road can be extremely
dangerous, and that’s how many motorists find
themselves stuck every year.
Find a map that you can draw on, and circle the major rivers in
the United States. Try to find the Connecticut River, the
Mississippi River, and the Colorado River. Notice how many cities
are located along these rivers. Cities such as St. Louis, Hartford,
New Orleans, and Memphis were all built along major waterways.
Building a city on a river is beneficial due to boat transportation, but
it comes along with the risk of flooding. Many cities have flood walls
built in, as well as natural marsh land to protect their citizens from
any major problems.