The Southeast United States Soaked by Unprecedented Rainfall

More than 40 trillion gallons of rain engulfed the Southeast United States in the past week, a deluge caused by Hurricane Helene and a preceding rainstorm. This staggering amount of water has left experts astounded and the region reeling from the catastrophic flooding.

To put this amount of rainfall into perspective, the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium could be filled 51,000 times with the rainwater that fell. In North Carolina alone, the water could reach a depth of 3.5 feet, enough to fill over 60 million Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer volume of water that plummeted from the sky has left meteorologists in awe.

Ed Clark, head of the National Water Center, described the precipitation as “astronomical” and unprecedented in his 25 years of experience. The flood damage caused by this excessive rainfall has been labeled apocalyptic, with over 100 fatalities reported in the aftermath.

Private meteorologist Ryan Maue calculated the staggering 40 trillion gallons of rain using advanced precipitation measurements. This amount of rain is equivalent to draining Lake Tahoe or filling numerous Olympic swimming pools multiple times over.

The convergence of multiple storm systems resulted in this unprecedented rainfall event. The stalled low-pressure system combined with the impact of Hurricane Helene created a perfect storm scenario that unleashed a colossal amount of water over the region.

Experts attribute the intensity of these storms to climate change, which has led to wetter and more destructive weather patterns. The fingerprints of climate change are becoming increasingly evident in the wake of such catastrophic events as witnessed in the Southeast United States.