Warming causes more extreme rain, not snow, over mountains. Scientists say that’s a problem

By SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer

A new study says climate change is turning major snowfalls into more extreme rain over mountains, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year and long-term water shortages. Using rain and snow measurements since 1950 and computer simulations for future climate, U.S. government scientists calculate that for every degree Fahrenheit the world warms, extreme rainfall at higher elevation increases by 8%. That’s because more of the heavy precipitation that in previous years would have fallen as snow is now coming down as rain. It’s likely to be a big problem for long-term water storage in the American West.