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Severe weather brings blazing heat, flooding across the US

Across the United States this summer, residents in various places have dealt with everything from flooding, to severe heat and poor air quality.
Flooded road with a "Road closed" sign
Posted at 1:04 PM, Jul 16, 2023

Authorities released the names of the two children who are considered missing after a flash flood swamped a Pennsylvania road on Saturday and swept away several cars. 

Police are looking for 2-year-old Matilda Sheils and 9-month-old Conrad Sheils. Their mother was found dead, along with four others. 

The incident occurred in Bucks County's Makefield Township around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We are treating this as a rescue, but we are fairly certain that we are in a recovery mode at this time," Brewer said in a press conference Sunday.

Brewer said about 75 respondents are on the ground searching the area by foot.

Brewer called the intense flooding worse than Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm that ripped through several states in 2021.

"In my 44 years of service, I thought Hurricane Ida was the benchmark," Brewer said, "This is the new benchmark.

At the time of the incident, 11 cars were on the road and three were swept away, according to The Associated Press. 4 to 5 feet of water covered the road.

Eight people were saved from cars and two from a creek. 

Each of the three vehicles that were swept away were located, but no one was found inside. One was found about 1.5 miles from the road where the flood occurred.

The Lower Makefield Township Police Department had issued a warning of hazardous road conditions on Twitter, saying some major roads were "impassable."

Veterinary staff use a canoe to remove surgical supplies from the flood-damaged center.

Vermont residents survey flood damage, brace for more rain

The storms dumped record amounts of rain on Vermonters in a short time.

LEARN MORE

Severe weather and flooding has been a danger across several states. The National Weather Service has issued flash flood and tornado warnings in areas of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. 

Flooding recently devastated Vermont, which is working to recover as more bad weather threatens the state.

Warming of the climate is contributing to more extreme weather patterns. Experts say climate change doesn't mean that it's going to be more extreme for everybody all the time. 

The patterns are expected to look more like a scenario in which some places see more droughts, while other places will get a lot warmer. 

In places like Colorado, there has been more rain and flooding. 

Overall, this is what residents are likely to see: Patterns that are different, and more extreme in certain areas that aren't historically prepared for those conditions.