This Is Climate Change: Eight 500-Year Storms Since May *2015

The extreme weather events predicted for decades by climate scientists have been on parade in the Southern United States all year. Are we ready to say, "this is climate change"?

2 minute read

August 17, 2016, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Louisiana Flooding

The Louisiana National Guard at work on a flooded roadway in Latt Lake in Grant Parish during March 2016. | The National Guard / Flickr

[Updated August 18, 2016 - the headline was updated to reflect the correct duration of time.]

"Climate change is never going to announce itself by name. But this is what we should expect it to look like," according to an article by Jonah Engel Bromwich about the recent catastrophic flooding in Louisiana.

According to the narrative built by the article, the recent floods in Louisiana are just the latest in a series of extreme events that are resetting expectations about the severity weather events. It's hard to deny that weather events are worsening in Louisiana:

The flooding in Louisiana is the eighth event since May of last year in which the amount of rainfall in an area in a specified window of time matches or exceeds the NOAA predictions for an amount of precipitation that will occur once every five hundred years, or has a 0.2 percent chance of occurring in any given year.

As Engel Bromwich notes, it's not just Louisiana facing new levels of precipitation in short bursts of extreme weather, "five other states, most of them in the South, that have experienced deadly flooding in the last 15 months, including OklahomaTexasSouth Carolina and West Virginia." That local trend is contributing to a global fact of life, according to Engel Bromwich: "The third National Climate Assessment, released in 2014 by the United States Global Change Research Program, showed that 'the amount of rain falling in very heavy precipitation events' had been significantly above average since 1991."

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

Close-up of man in manually operated wheelchair waiting at urban crosswalk.

Making Mobility More Inclusive

A new study highlights the challenges people with disabilities continue to face in navigating urban spaces.

30 minutes ago - Greater Good Magazine

US and Texas flags flying in front of Texas state capitol dome in Austin, Texas.

Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness

A proposal to speed up the eviction process and a bill that would accelerate enforcement of an existing camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.

1 hour ago - The Texas Tribune

Person in yellow safety suit and white helmet kneels to examine water samples outdoors on a lake shore.

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure

If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

2 hours ago - Inside Climate News