If you think this summer is wetter and raining more than usual, then you’re right.
New York, New Jersey.
Shocked commuters on the 1, 2 and 3 lines were shocked by flash flooding at 28th Avenue station in Manhattan.
Daily tropical downpours, fatal flash floods, moisture crushing: If you think summer 2025 is wetier and raining than usual, you’re right.
“2025 has been a year of floods,” WPLG-TV meteorologist Michael Lowry said in an email to USA Today on July 15th. “The tragic July 4 flood in central Texas – the deadliest flash flood in at least 50 years in the US – has suspended what was particularly bad for flooding across the country.”
In fact, “So far, in 2025, the National Weather Service office has issued more flood warnings than any other year dated back to 1986,” Laurie said.
In addition to the devastating flooding in Texas, life-threatening flooding and record-breaking rain have been reported this month in New Mexico, North Carolina and other East Coast states.
Why is this? what happened?
It’s humidity
“In general, air moisture is historically high in areas where the most flooded this year has been seen,” Lowry told USA Today.
“You can see the temperature at the dew point as a gauge of how soup it was,” he said. “Dew point temperatures are much higher than average in parts of Texas and almost a third of the US.”
So why is it so humid? The main reason is due to the unusually warm waters of the Atlantic and Gulf this season. “It was pretty warm in subtropical waters around the US, especially off the east coast, with stronger currents from the south and east around Bermuda’s highlands sweeping all that steaming air from farther inland offshore,” Laurie said.
In fact, this year the Bermuda/Azores have been unusually strong so far, flowing clockwise through that area of high pressure, pulling moisture directly into the US from the ocean and bay.
“So, in the end, it’s high humidity levels from the warm waters around the US, which contributes to the record flooding we’ve seen so far this year,” said Laurie.
Wet springs also set stages
Accuweather Meteorologist Paul Pastelok told USA Today that it set the stage for a flooded summer that continues to be wet spring in the east. He said the drunken ground from the heavy rains in April and May contributed to the floods he saw in the summer.
Additionally, Pastelock said there is a lack of strong cold fronts swept from Canada, which acts to reduce humidity levels. He said it was a cold front in mid-July, and for quite some time the first front would help ease the grinding humidity in parts of the Midwest and Northeast at least later this week.
DC Delage
One city where many flash floods were seen this summer is Washington, DC. This has seen an extraordinary number of weather alerts related to rain and flooding this year.
In a typical year, the weather services office in the DC Baltimore region produces one or two moderate risk rainfall outlooks. In July alone, there were already three of them on July 1st, 9th and 14th, CNN reported.
National Weather Service’s DC-Baltimore office told USA Today on July 15 that the average number of rainfall forecasts and flash flood warnings were common in July.
“Last month, there were only seven days when the DC Baltimore area was not under threat of excessive rainfall,” CNN said.
What about climate change?
Climate change can affect the intensity and frequency of precipitation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. This states that “warm oceans increase the amount of water evaporating into the air. When moisture-filled air travels on land or converges into a storm system, it can cause more intense precipitation.
A recent study by the non-profit research group Climate Central has shown that since 1970, almost 90% of US metropolitan cities have seen an increase in hourly rainfall rates.
(This story will be updated, adding new information and correcting errors/typos.)
