See the “once in a thousand years” flash flood in Death Valley National Park from space – Scientific Exploration – cnBeta.COM

According to CNET,On August 5, a “once-in-a-thousand-year” torrential rain event poured rain into California’s Death Valley National Park.The torrential rain damaged miles of roads, forcing tourists to take shelter in place. NASA satellites tracked the flood from orbit.

NASA’s Earth Observatory shared views from space on Wednesday. One, from July 11, shows normal conditions at the park. The other, from August 7, shows the location of the flood in dark blue. These false-color images don’t quite look like what the naked eye sees. The colors are to accentuate surface features such as vegetation (bright green) and saturated soil (light blue).

Side-by-side annotated versions of the two images show how much rain falls on areas that are usually dry.

NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites recorded these views of Death Valley on July 11 (left) and August 7 (right), showing rainfall events in early August.

“The torrential rain that caused devastating flooding in Death Valley is an extremely rare once-in-a-millennium event,” National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Berc said in an Aug. 7 statement from the National Park Service. “Once in a thousand years doesn’t mean it happens every 1,000 years, it means there’s a 0.1 percent chance of it happening in any given year.”

Preliminary data showed nearly a year of precipitation falling in just three hours. Furnace Creek, where the park’s visitor center is located, recorded 1.46 inches (3.7 cm) of rainfall. The current single-day record is 1.47 inches in 1988, while the average annual rainfall is less than 2 inches (5 cm).

There are currently no reports of casualties. The National Park Service said it could take several months to repair and reopen all damaged roads.

“This is the hottest place in the world and the driest place in North America. This week’s once-in-a-millennium flood is another example of this extreme environment,” said park ranger Mike Reynolds. “With climate change models predicting more frequent and intense storms, this is a place where you can see climate change in action.”