More than 15 inches of rain have fallen in places across Texas and Louisiana already this week with more expected as the battered region contends with flash floods, severe thunderstorms, and even tornados. At least four people have died so far this week in Louisiana, and states of emergency have been declared across the region. Extreme precipitation is a clear signal of human-caused climate change — global warming increases ocean evaporation and the amount of moisture the atmosphere can hold, effectively creating and filling a bigger bucket that can dump more water when it rains. I

In Lake Charles, Louisiana, still recovering from Hurricanes Laura and Delta, close to 15 inches of rain fell over just a six-hour period, forcing residents to be rescued from their homes by boat or big trucks. The storm and flooding are, “Just insult to injury,” Phillip Tarver, who represents Lake Charles in the State Legislature and is a car dealer in the city, told the New York Times. “It’s been a tough nine months. It really has.” (New York Times $, AP, Washington Post $, The Advocate, KATC, WAFB, KPLC; Lake Charles rain: KATC; Climate Signals: Extreme precipitation increase, Flooding, 2020 Atlantic hurricane season)