When It Rains It Pours: Report Release

New Report: Extreme Downpours Up 49 Percent in Ohio
Scientists Link Trend to Global Warming

Cleveland, Ohio—Just two months after heavy downpours led to flooding that dumped massive amounts of untreated sewage into Lake Erie, a new Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center report confirms that extreme rainstorms are happening 49 percent more frequently in Ohio since 1948.  

“As the old saying goes, when it rains, it pours—especially in recent years as bigger storms have hit Ohio more often,” said Craig Gibson, Clean Air Organizer for Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center.  “We need to heed scientists’ warnings that this dangerous trend is linked to global warming, and do everything we can to cut carbon pollution today.”  

Based on an analysis of state data from the National Climatic Data Center, the new report found that heavy downpours  that used to happen once every 12 months on average in state now happen every 8.1 months on average.  Moreover, the biggest storms are getting bigger.  The largest annual storms in State now produce 15 percent more precipitation, on average than they did 65 years ago.  

Scientists have concluded that the rise in the frequency and severity of heavy rainstorms and snowstorms is linked to global warming.  Warming increases evaporation and enables the atmosphere to hold more water, providing more fuel for extreme rainstorms and heavy snowstorms.  

Craig Gibson pointed to the rainstorm that hit Cleveland in July of this Summer as an illustration of what more extreme rainstorms could mean for the state.  That rainstorm, which brought heavy precipitation over a period of just a few hours,  overpowered the combined sewage system resulting in hazardous waste overflow along the Lake Erie coastline.  The large amounts of traceable bacteria in these overflows contribute to Ohio’s beaches being ranked as the second worst in the nation.   

Over 10 billion gallons of of untreated sewage is dumped each year into Lake Erie and waterways across Ohio, said Dr. Leanne Jablonski FMI of the Union of Concerned Scientists. These untreated discharges commonly contain bacteria, parasites, toxic chemicals and can contain more than 120 viruses.  These discharges have sizeable environmental, public health, recreational and economic impacts.   

 The new Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center report, When It Rains, It Pours: Global Warming and the Increase in Extreme Precipitation from 1948 to 2011, examines trends in the frequency of and the total amount of precipitation produced by extreme rain and snow storms across the contiguous United States from 1948 to 2011.  Using data from 3,700 weather stations and a methodology originally developed by scientists at the National Climatic Data Center and the Illinois State Water Survey, the report identifies storms with the greatest 24-hour precipitation totals at each weather station, and analyzes when those storms occurred. The report also examines trends in the amount of precipitation produced by the largest annual storm at each weather station.

Nationally, the report found that storms with extreme precipitation increased in frequency by 30 percent across the contiguous United States from 1948 to 2011. Moreover, the largest annual storms produced 10 percent more precipitation, on average.  At the state level, 43 states show a significant trend toward more frequent storms with extreme precipitation, while only one state (Oregon) shows a significant decline.  

Key findings for Ohio and the East North Central Region include:
Extreme rainstorms and snowstorms are becoming more frequent. Ohio experienced a 49 percent increase in the frequency of extreme rainstorms from 1948 to 2011.  In other words, heavy downpours or snowstorms that happened once every 12 months on average in 1948 now happen every 8.1 months, on average.
Storms with extreme precipitation increased in frequency by 34 percent in the East North Central during the period studied.  
The biggest rainstorms and snowstorms are getting bigger.  The amount of precipitation released by the largest annual storms in Ohio increased by 15 percent from 1948 to 2011.

Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center was joined by the Union of Concerned Scientists and Whiskey Island Marina & Wendy Park at a press event to release today’s report.  

“Damage from flooding following incidences of extreme precipitation are typically measured in terms of lives lost and cost of damage to buildings and infrastructure”, said Jablonski.  “But what is often overlooked are the potentially costly public health impacts.  These are featured in the Union of Concerned Scientists recent report linking climate change and health, “After the Storm: The Hidden Health Risks of Flooding in a Warming World (www.ucsusa.org). The top five include bacteria and sewage in our local waterways, beaches and swimming holes; sewage backup in plumbing or basements; waterborne diseases contaminating drinking water; drowning while driving and dangerous mold in indoor air.”   

Tim Poole, General Manager of Whiskey Island Marina & Wendy Park added, “The sole responsibility for the clean up of debris, garbage, trees, and other materials washed onto shorelines of Wendy Park and into the harbor around the Whiskey Island Marina has always fallen on the backs of the county owned facilities.  The severe storms and their aftermath are driving up expenses and threatening the ability of one of Cuyahoga Counties premiere outdoor recreation spaces’ ability to operate in a sustainable efficient manner.”

Gibson was careful to note that an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme rainstorms does not mean more water will be available for human use. Hotter temperatures fuel extreme rainstorms by increasing rates of evaporation. At the same time, however, that evaporation increases soil dryness. Moreover, scientists expect that, as global warming intensifies, longer periods with relatively little precipitation will tend to mark the periods between heavy rainstorms. As a result, droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions of the United States. Currently, more than half of the lower United States is suffering through prolonged drought, aggravated by the fact that the last six months have been the hottest January-June period on record.

According to the most recent science, the United States must reduce its total global warming emissions by at least 35 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and by at least 85 percent by 2050 in order to prevent the most devastating consequences of global warming.  Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center highlighted two proposals from the Obama administration—carbon pollution and fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks through model year 2025, and the first ever carbon pollution standards for new power plants put forth by the EPA—as critical steps toward meeting these pollution reduction targets.  

“How serious this problem gets is largely within our control – but only if we act boldly to reduce the pollution that fuels global warming,” said Craig Gibson.  “We applaud the Obama administration for their proposals to cut carbon pollution from vehicles and new power plants, and urge them to move forward with finalizing these critical initiatives this year.”

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Environment Ohio Research and Policy Center is a statewide, environmental advocacy and education organization.