On average
in the United States, the amount of rain falling during the heaviest 1 percent of
rainstorms has increased nearly 20 percent during the past 50 years — almost three times the rate of increase
in total precipitation.4, 5 The Midwest saw an even larger average increase of 31 percent, surpassed only by the Northeast (at 67 percent).4 Scientists attribute the rise
in heavy precipitation to climate change that has already occurred over the past half - century.6