Associated Press
MAYFIELD, Ky. — High-water rescue crews pulled people from flooded homes and vehicles Wednesday in Kentucky, where waves of thunderstorms prompted flash flood warnings and watches. A search continued for two children swept away after torrential rains in the northeastern United States.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood watches and warnings, estimating that as much as 10 inches of rain could fall in the area where Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri meet at the convergence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The weather system will then move Thursday and Friday over New England, where the ground remains saturated after recent floods.
Atmospheric scientists say the global warming responsible for unrelenting heat in the Southwest also is making this kind of extreme rainfall a more frequent reality, because clouds hold more moisture as the temperature rises, resulting in more destructive storms.
With so much rain falling so quickly, it was a “life-threatening situation” in the Mayfield and Wingo areas early Wednesday, according to Keith Cooley, a senior forecaster with the weather service in Paducah, Kentucky.
In Mayfield, a city of 10,000 that was especially hard hit by storms that produced deadly tornadoes in December 2021, the flooding appeared concentrated in older neighborhoods, where the overflowing Red Duck Creek usually meanders toward Mayfield Creek, which feeds the Mississippi.
“I know we’re weary of this, but also so hopeful for the future,” Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan said. “I don’t think this is going to set us back any, but we all feel that enough is enough.”
In Connecticut, a woman died after being swept down a swollen river Tuesday with her 5-year-old daughter. State Fire officials say the pair were swimming in the Shetucket River in Sprague when they were swept away by currents that have been running high because of the recent heavy rains in New England. They were found unconscious downstream and…
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