The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse?

The Conversation · 🇦🇺 public Australia · May 26, 2026 · 815 words · By David Boutt

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What to know about The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse?

A hydrologist from UMass Amherst explains how rising global temperatures affect the water cycle, leading to a paradox of more intense downpours and more frequent droughts. The author discusses research on soil water retention and suggests infrastructure and conservation strategies to adapt to these hydrological shifts.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left20%

Center60%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

is in some stage of drought in late spring 2026, yet at the same time the country has been seeing more intense downpours.

Why it matters

It might seem contradictory, but both are symptoms of rising global temperatures.

Common ground

Water influences every aspect of our lives through a delicate cycle that transforms liquid water into vapor and back again.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse??
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Water also evaporates faster in warmer temperatures?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-seeing-stronger-storms-so-why-are-droughts…

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

schedule Pending 1

verified

Claim 1: “Water also evaporates faster in warmer temperatures”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The principle that evaporation rates increase with temperature is a basic scientific fact confirmed by educational materials and Wikipedia's entry on water vapor.

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web search NEUTRAL — Provides water for plants and animals: Water vapour gets converted to rain and snow that serve as a natural source of water for plants and animals. Controls evaporation: Excess water vapor in the air …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vapor

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web search NEUTRAL — Can you calculate the rate at which water will flash to steam given the temperature and psia? For example, assuming approximately .8 PSIA and 100 degrees F, at what rate would the water evaporate?
https://van.physics.illinois.edu/ask/listing/1440

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web search NEUTRAL — Evaporation rates are higher at higher temperatures because as temperature increases, the amount of energy necessary for evaporation decreases. In sunny, warm weather the loss of water by evaporation …
https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/food_…

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Claim 2: “in 2023 they found that high-intensity events in their research area made up about 42% of the year’s total precipitation”

CORROBORATED

The specific figure of 42% of total yearly precipitation coming from high-intensity events in 2023 at the Harvard Forest research area is confirmed by both the source article and the 'Increasing Large Precipitation Events' search result.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Harvard Forest is an ecological research area of 4,000 acres (16 km2) owned and managed by Harvard University and located in Petersham, Massachusetts. The property, in operation since 1907, includes o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Forest

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636, and named Harvard College in 1639 in honor of its first benefactor, Puritan …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Harvard University endowment, valued at $56.9 billion as of June 30, 2025, is the largest academic endowment in the world. Its value increased in fiscal year 2024, ending the year with its largest…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_University_endowment

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 3: “a new study using computer models indicates that more aggressive efforts to reduce the drivers of climate change – particularly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels – can reverse the trend of extreme precipitation, eventually returning to rates seen in the 20th century”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “despite an increase in total annual precipitation nationally, the landscape is drying out more rapidly as temperatures rise”

SINGLE SOURCE

This specific combination of facts (rising national precipitation vs. drying landscape) is reported in the source article, but not corroborated by the other general climate change search results provided.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also inclu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

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web search NEUTRAL — Even though annual precipitation is rising nationally, the landscape is drying out more rapidly. That’s changing the water cycle.
https://theconversation.com/the-us-is-seeing-stronger-storms…

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web search NEUTRAL — One of the most concerning impacts of global warming is the effect warmer temperatures will have on Earth's polar regions and mountain glaciers. The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest o…
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/globa…

info

Claim 5: “About two-thirds of the U.S. is in some stage of drought in late spring 2026”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific claim about two-thirds of the U.S. being in drought in late spring 2026 appears in one specific article title/snippet. While a separate search result mentions 96.83% of the Southeast in drought on April 16, 2026, there is no second independent source confirming the 'two-thirds of the U.S.' figure for that specific timeframe.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal started in 2009 when representatives of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores received a large number of clay bullae and tablets originating in the ancient Near East.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby_smuggling_scandal

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and minor islands. Bot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 6: “Massachusetts, for example, created a climate data clearinghouse to make research and data widely available”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the creation of a climate data clearinghouse in Massachusetts.

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Claim 7: “the country has been seeing more intense downpours”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources confirm the increase in rainfall intensity in the US: Climate Central analyzed 150 cities and found 136 experienced an increase, and another source notes a 15% increase in extreme rainfall in Texas.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_St…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “scientists at Harvard Forest found that more intense storms are delivering greater amounts of water at rates exceeding the soil’s capacity to retain it”

CORROBORATED

Both the source article and a separate scientific-sounding search result ('Increasing Large Precipitation Events and Low Available Water...') confirm that Harvard Forest research shows intense storms deliver water exceeding soil retention capacity.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago ... In one study, scientists at Harvard Forest found that more intense storms are delivering greater amounts of water at rates exceeding the soil's ...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/us-seeing-strong…

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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 21, 2025 ... Since the soils at Harvard Forest have a low water holding capacity, most of this rainfall quickly seeps deep into the ground and becomes ...
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/202…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 15, 2026 ... Dave - for context, I have degrees in biology, forestry, and Earth science. I earned my PhD in 2005 and have been conducting science as a MS ...
https://www.facebook.com/AdirondackExplorer/posts/study-reve…

info

Claim 9: “During the wettest years over the past decade, we found an accumulation of approximately 2 inches of water in the shallow ground”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific measurement of 2 inches of water accumulation in shallow ground is mentioned in the source article snippet, but no other independent source corroborates this specific data point.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — About two-thirds of the U.S. is in some stage of drought in late spring 2026, yet at the same time the country has been seeing more intense downpours. It might seem contradictory, but both are symptom…
https://www.arcamax.com/knowledge/scienceandtech/technews/s-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — #Grounded #BlackAntQueen #Location In this video, we will show you the location of the Black Ant Queen at Black Ant Hill near the Sandbox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOvnnxnoc5E

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — As the energy in the molecules rises, the particles within move and vibrate more, causing them to take up more space.In chemistry, water is also referred to as H2O. It’s an oxygen hydride that consist…
https://www.inchcalculator.com/water-weight-calculator/

info

Claim 10: “My research group at UMass found in a separate study that while wet years in the Northeast are becoming more frequent, dry years are also becoming more frequent”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim regarding the UMass study on the frequency of both wet and dry years in the Northeast is mentioned in the source article, but the other search results only discuss general drought frequency or vegetable notes, not this specific study's findings.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 5 days ago ... Even though annual precipitation is rising nationally, the landscape is drying out more rapidly. That's changing the water cycle.
https://www.kpvi.com/interests/the-us-is-seeing-stronger-sto…

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web search NEUTRAL — It is anticipated that the frequency of droughts will increase in the future as temperatures rise and precipitation variability increases. Maximum snow ...
https://ian.umces.edu/site/assets/files/11169/ecological-dro…

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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 23, 2021 ... After last weekend's heavy rainfall and cold temps, the latest issue of UMass Extension's Vegetable Notes reminds growers that boom-and-bust ...
https://www.facebook.com/FOX10Phoenix/posts/tough-growing-co…

help

Claim 11: “It also invested in computer models to examine potential future scenarios of water storage on the landscape”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny Massachusetts' investment in computer models for water storage scenarios.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.