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How weather conditions set the stage for deadly Texas flash floods

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Incredible amounts of moisture in the air fueled a storm that moved slowly and dumped rain over central Texas, creating conditions for fatal flash floods in the early morning hours when it was easy to catch people by surprise, meteorologists said.

More than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain fell in the Texas Hill Country over a span of several hours early Friday, causing water levels to quickly rise, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather. The area is naturally prone to flash flooding, but this was an especially bad storm that hit during the vulnerable overnight hours, experts said. Dozens of deaths have been reported along with numerous rescues.

Meteorologists said that an atmosphere warmed by human-caused climate change can hold more moisture and allow bad storms to dump more rain, though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur.

“In a warming climate we know that the atmosphere has more moisture to give, to hold on to and then to release. But also the thing that we know about climate change is that our rain events are not as uniform as what they used to be,” said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central. “So, you’ll get these big rain events happening in localized areas, tapping into the historic level of moisture in the atmosphere.”

In recent weeks, flash flooding driven by bursts of heavy rain turned deadly elsewhere in Texas and in West Virginia. In San Antonio in June, more than 7 inches (18 centimeters) of rain fell over a span of hours, prompting dozens of rescues from the fast-rising floodwaters and killing at least 13. And in West Virginia that month, at least nine people died when as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain fell within 40 minutes and caused flash flooding in the Wheeling area.

Staggering rain runs off hard ground

Robert Henson, a meteorologist and writer with Yale Climate Connections, said this latest Texas rain storm was roughly a once-in-a-generation event. It fell in the Texas Hill Country where water quickly shoots down rugged hills into narrow river basins that swell quickly.

“As is often the case with the worst disasters, many things came together in a terrible way.” Henson said.

Plus, the area had been in a drought, so the water ran down the dry, hard land fast. That made it more dangerous for children attending camp.

“A sudden surge of rain like that is going to have a harder time getting absorbed,” said Brett Anderson, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “It just runs right off of it. It’s like concrete.”

The sheer amount of rain was overwhelming. Former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist, calculated Saturday morning that the storm had dropped 120 billion gallons of water on Kerr County, which received the brunt of the storm.

A storm with plenty of fuel

Moisture fueled the storm from many directions. Tropical Storm Barry formed briefly last weekend, moving over Mexico and then its remnants continued up into Texas. But the jet stream, a current of air that moves weather patterns, wasn’t there to push that moisture away.

“Normally weather systems and the remnants of tropical systems will get picked up by the jet stream, and that’s just not over Texas currently,” said Winkley, the Climate Central meteorologist. “It’s essentially a weather system without a road to get away from the Lone Star State.”

The warm water of the Gulf fueled the moist atmosphere. Even more moisture came from areas over the Pacific Ocean to the west. The combination gave the storm plenty of fuel once it got started.

Winkley said in the area that flooded, climate change might mean that rain storms are less common, but when they do occur they can be more severe.

Generally a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, creating conditions for storms to drop more rain.

“With climate change we have a warming atmosphere. A warmer atmosphere holds a lot more moisture, and we are seeing obviously much more total atmospheric moisture across the globe in recent years than we normally have,” said Anderson, the AccuWeather meteorologist.

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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment





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Week 5 Results + Scorecards | Dana White’s Contender Series Season 9

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Strawweights Carol Foro and Shanelle Dyer kicked things off with a fight that brought Dana White into the Octagon to congratulate both athletes, with Foro coming away with the victory. From there, the finishes just started rolling, as Samuel Sanches stopped Chasen Blair and Freddy Vidal snatched a submission in the final minute of his fight with Felipe Franco before Lerryan Douglas detonated a left hook on the chin of Cam Teague. And then, to close out the night, Steven Asplund needed just 16 seconds to dispatch Anthony Guarascio to close out the evening.

After brief deliberations, White emerged to announce the new additions to the UFC roster, awarding contracts to both Foro and Dyer, Sanches, Douglas, and Asplund while also announcing that Vidal would get another opportunity to compete on the final episode of the season.





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Judge blocks Trump from firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook for now

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Lisa Cook takes the oath of office to serve as a member of the Board of Governors at the Federal Reserve System during a ceremony at the William McChesney Martin Jr. Building of the Federal Reserve May 23, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images

A federal judge on Tuesday night blocked President Donald Trump from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook as her lawsuit challenging her termination plays out in court.

Judge Jia Cobb‘s issuance of a preliminary injunction in the case came nearly two weeks after Cook sued Trump to prevent him from becoming the first president in history to remove a Fed governor for purported cause.

Trump said on Aug. 25 that he was firing Cook because of suggestions by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte that she had committed mortgage fraud in connection with documents she signed for two residential properties she owns in Georgia and Michigan. Those documents were signed before she joined the Fed.

Cook, who is the first Black woman to serve on the Fed board, denies any wrongdoing.

“The public interest in Federal Reserve independence weighs in favor of Cook’s reinstatement,” Cobb wrote in an opinion on her decision Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

“At this preliminary stage, the Court finds that Cook has made a strong showing that her purported removal was done in violation of the Federal Reserve Act’s ‘for cause’ provision.”

Cobb said that “the best reading” of that provision is that the bases for removing a Fed governor are limited to actions relating to that governor’s ‘behavior in office.’ “

” ‘For cause’ thus does not contemplate removing an individual purely for conduct that occurred before they began in office,” the judge wrote, referring to the allegations that Trump cited in seeking to fire Cook.

Cobb’s order enjoins Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the Board of Governors “from effectuating in any manner” Cook’s removal because of Trump’s order.

Cook’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, in a statement, said, “Today’s ruling recognizes and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference.”

“Allowing the President to unlawfully remove Governor Cook on unsubstantiated and vague allegations would endanger the stability of our financial system and undermine the rule of law,” Lowell said.

“Governor Cook will continue to carry out her sworn duties as a Senate-confirmed Board Governor.”

The White House and the Federal Reserve did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Cobb’s order.

The Supreme Court is expected to have the final say in the case.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Trump has been critical of the Fed, Powell, and governors, including Cook, for not cutting interest rates as the president has demanded.

“I will not resign,” Cook said hours after Trump said he was firing her.

“President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so.”

The Federal Reserve Act says that board governors can be removed by a president only “for cause.”

Lowell, during an Aug. 29 court hearing, scoffed at the idea that Trump had legal cause to terminate her.

“You can’t have Director Pulte’s crazy midnight tweets be the cause,” Lowell told Cobb in U.S. District Court in D.C., during that hearing.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.



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J.J. McCarthy gets critique and praise from Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Randy Moss

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For exactly three quarters Monday night, things could not have looked more bleak for the Vikings.

Their young quarterback, J.J. McCarthy, looked overwhelmed. His indecisiveness early had led to a stalled offense, and his third quarter pick-six had put the Vikings in extreme danger of losing control of their opener in Chicago.

Their defense had allowed Bears QB Caleb Williams to complete his first 10 passes, the first Chicago quarterback to start a season with that many completions in almost a half-century.

The whole vibe just seemed off, a far cry from the crispness that embodied much of a 2024 season that ended with 14 victories.

Then Randy Moss showed up. And J.J. McCarthy showed out.

That’s too simple of an explanation, but the stars certainly aligned Monday.

In rewatching the Vikings’ 27-24 victory, this time via the alternate “ManningCast” production featuring Peyton and Eli Manning — and Moss, for one important quarter ― the highs and lows of the night as seen through McCarthy really came into focus.

I talked about that on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast, and I want to dig into some of the biggest takeaways from watching offensive legends watch the Vikings’ young quarterback.



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