OU Weather Researchers Receive $4 Million To Study Flash Flood Events

As communities across the country recover from hurricanes — researchers at the University of Oklahoma are trying to better predict flash flooding events. As big rain events become more frequent — property damage and loss of life become a greater concern. These researchers said more data can improve models to get more information to communities ahead of a storm. 

“Flash flooding is on average the most deadliest and most costly hazard we have in the United States,” said Steven Martinaitis, a hydrometeorology researcher with The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations at OU. 

“Basically, specializes in severe weather research … that spans from everything from tornadoes, flash flooding, winter weather, and societal impacts,” Martinaitis said. 

Martinaitis’s team received more federal money from the Biden Administration to advance their research to better understand floods and their consequences. This week the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $22.78 million in funding nationwide to NOAA labs and other research partners to advance research on water-driven climate impacts.

“It gives ourselves the ability to set ourselves up for the future,” Martinaitis said. “Really gives us an exciting future on how to do something better for the public.” 

Of course, people can’t prevent storms, but Martinaitis said researchers can help communities prepare for the possibilities on the horizon. 

“Which in turn can lead to better forecasts and predictions for these kinds of events to help mitigate the loss of life and property,” Martinaitis said.

Martinaitis said this effort also looks at the availability of water and how that impacts industries like agriculture and drinking water. The researchers were awarded more than $4 million locally for their research.