As Colorado Floods, the Midwest Broils

The central United States continues to experience unusual and unsettled summer weather. Yesterday, record downpours took place along the front range of the Rockies, causing flash flooding in Boulder and Aurora. The rain came so fast and the flooding was so sudden that emergency services were nearly overwhelmed. Hundreds of people left their homes. At least two people are known dead in Boulder County and it is expected that more will be found along roadways that flooded almost without warning, sweeping vehicles away. Seven inches of rain fell overnight, a huge amount for the region. Boulder Creek, which runs through Boulder City and the University of Colorado campus went from being a beautiful waterway to a raging, menacing torrent.

Temperatures across the midwest at this point are unusually high and residents now have to contend very poor air conditions due to the highest mold count so far in the 2013 allergy reporting season. The Gottlieb Allergy Count, which is the official allergy count for the area, this week reported a record mold count of 85,000, well over the 50,000 threshold that signals a dangerous air quality warning.

“The recent series of hot temperatures and high humidity has created high mold growth,” said Dr. Joseph Leija, an allergist at Loyola’s Gottlieb Memorial Hospital who is solely certified by the National Allergy Bureau to perform the daily allergy count for the Midwest region.

However, the same powerful weather system that is causing violent storms in Colorado is now moving eastward, and is likely to collide with the hot, humid air now blanketing the region. More violent storms across the center of the country could well be the result.

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