New Study Uncovers Hidden Heat and Flood Risks Across Texas.

A recent study has shed light on previously underrecognized heat and flood hazards throughout Texas, revealing that many extreme weather events go undocumented in global databases. Life-threatening high-heat conditions that fall within normal climatological ranges and localized flash floods often evade detection, leaving gaps in hazard assessments.

Over the past two decades, Texas has faced a rising number of extreme weather incidents, including frequent flooding and intense heat. To gain a clearer understanding, researchers Matthew Preisser and Paola Passalacqua analyzed publicly available daily satellite data on precipitation and temperature. Their approach provided a more comprehensive view of the state’s flood and heat hazards in recent years.

Focusing on rainfall data from 2001 to 2020, the team identified hazardous flood events as those occurring with an average recurrence interval of two or more years—meaning such an event happens no more than once every two years in a given location. Comparing their findings to established records from the NOAA Storm Events Database and the Dartmouth Flood Observatory, the researchers uncovered three times the number of flood events reported in the latter, along with an estimated $320 million in additional damages. These results were published in AGU Advances.

The study also expanded the definition of extreme heat beyond traditional heat waves, which are usually defined by temperatures exceeding a percentile threshold for several consecutive days. Instead, the researchers included heat events characterized by the wet-bulb globe temperature surpassing a 30°C health threshold. Using this broader measure, they found that Texas experienced 2,517 days with hazardous heat from 2003 to 2020—almost 40% of all days—impacting a vast area of 253.2 million square kilometers.

By analyzing combined flood and heat hazards as multihazard events, the study revealed that regions with larger minority populations face elevated risks. This finding suggests that previous methods may significantly underestimate both the frequency and unequal impacts of these combined hazards on marginalized communities.

Source:https://phys.org/news/2025-05-scientists-reveal-hidden-hazards-texas.html

This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.