Late in August, Hurricane Harvey slammed into the coast of Texas, bringing with it heavy rains that caused devastating flooding. The storm was the strongest to hit the state since the 1960s. Dozens of people died, and thousands had to evacuate their homes as floodwaters rose.
Harvey made landfall at the town of Rockport, which sustained significant damage. Houston, America’s fourth most-populous city, saw record rains. While most storms keep moving and weaken once they reach land, Harvey got caught between other weather systems. It lingered in the same spot for days, dropping more rain than the area typically receives in a year. Climate change likely played a role in the heavy rainfall: Warmer air holds more water, so megastorms tend to dump more rain as global temperatures rise. Scientists predict that we’ll see powerful storms more often in the future.
As this issue of Science World went to press, a new storm threat was emerging: Hurricane Irma was barreling toward the U.S. as a Category 5 storm—the strongest class. Meanwhile recovery efforts in Harvey’s wake will continue for months to come.