Tuesday, October 22

At least 2 people are dead and hundreds of others were forced to be rescued after severe storms hit the town of Roswell, New Mexico, causing intense flash flooding.

The storm arrived on Saturday and lasted through the weekend, bringing loads of rain to a rocky, relatively dry area. The rain totals on Saturday alone reached a staggering 5.78 inches, which is extremely high considering the town's annual rainfall is around 13 inches. According to the National Weather Service, that number also took home the local record for most rain in a 24-hour period, which was previously 5.65 inches on November 1, 1901.

The rapid rainfall rates -- around 1.5 to 2 inches per hour for much of the weekend -- led to severe flash flooding, inundating Roswell and its surrounding area in just a few hours. Rivers burst their banks as well, taking down bridges and washing away entire roads. Airports, schools, and other places like libraries and cemeteries were also closed for the weekend. People were left stranded on top of cars and homes, but most were saved by search-and-rescue teams-- local agencies along with New Mexico's National Guard, reported that they had saved a total of 290 people, and dozens were in critical condition and were taken to hospitals in the area. Two bodies were also recovered.

Roswell will now try to recover from this disaster, but more extreme rainfall events like this may be likely in the near future. As climate change worsens, rainfall patterns are shifting, changing the climate of not just deserts or forests, but the entire world, and everyone will be impacted in some form by the changing weather patterns and temperatures.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): Baby blue whales can gain up to 250 pounds per day.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Not everybody is perfect, and I don’t think we should be looking for perfect people. (Simon Cowell)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Intransigent (adj)- Intransigent is a formal word that describes a person who refuses to compromise or abandon an often extreme position or attitude. It can also describe a thing, such as a system or point of view, that shows the same kind of stubbornness.

In a Sentence: Despite the mediator's best efforts, the opposing sides in the dispute remained intransigent.