What Role Did Climate Change Play In Epic Duluth Floods?

As the people of Duluth, Minn. — a community of about 86,000 tucked away at the southwest corner of Lake Superior — try to recover from the record flooding of the past week, it’s reasonable for them to ask whether global warming may have played a role in the floodwaters that so heavily damaged their city.

Given the unusual nature of the rainfall, and the prevalence of extreme weather in Minnesota and other states so far this year and during recent decades, the answer, according to the scientific evidence, is “maybe.” (That the jury is still out is reason enough for concern.).

Here are some of the facts regarding the unprecedented and devastating flooding event that took place this week in Duluth. A cold front sparked slow-moving thunderstorms that repeatedly moved over the Duluth area between June 17-19, dumping between 8 and 10 inches of rain in a 24-to 36-hour period on Duluth and neighboring communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/23/505133/what-role-did-climate-change-play-in-epic-duluth-floods/