'It'll get worse': Scientists warn extreme weather like Texas flood will happen more often

HOUSTON — The Texas Hill Country is still reeling after deadly flooding left behind a trail of destruction and heartbreak. Lives were lost and forever changed by a single storm. Scientists are now warning this disaster was made worse by climate change and are sounding the alarm about what it means for the future of Texas.

In the early morning hours of July 4, 20 inches of rain drowned central Texas, raising the Guadalupe River 26 feet in under an hour.

"There was so much screaming," said RV park owner Lorena Guillen. "There were dozens of vehicles just floating away."

Climate researchers say the flooding in the Texas Hill Country is just the beginning of what the future holds for Texas as the climate continues to warm.

"It's steroids for the weather," said Dr. Andrew Dessler, director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather at Texas A&M. "It doesn't cause rain events, but it takes what would otherwise be a moderate rain event or slightly heavyish rain event and turns it into a monster."

Dr. Dessler tells KHOU 11 News monster storms like these are happening more often.

Just last year Hurricane Helene left parts of North Carolina underwater and 107 people dead. And 219 were killed in flash flooding in Valencia, Spain.

"As the globe warms, we will continue to see more and more intense rain events like Hurricane Harveys and this July 4 flooding," said Dessler. "These events are going to happen again and again and it'll get worse."

Texas' location off the Gulf puts the state even more at risk.

"Texas is one of the most vulnerable states to climate impact," said Dessler.

The Gulf has warmed nearly two degrees since 1970. So has the Earth.

"If you warm the atmosphere, warmer air can hold more water vapor," explained Dessler.

All that water eventually pours down on communities just like we saw in the Texas Hill Country.

"We need to enhance our warning systems," said Dessler. "What we should be focusing on is how to live with intense rain events and how do we prevent as much warming in the future."

Dessler says that means reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Climate scientists predict the Earth could still warm another 3 to 4 degrees.

"If we don't take aggressive action, that's a huge amount of warming," said Dessler. "It's going to change the world."

And this extreme weather also comes at a financial cost. Just last year there was more than $180 billion in damages in the United States. That's eight times the average annual toll during the 1980s.

It's worth noting, NOAA will also no longer be tracking future data like this due to staffing and budget cuts.