It’s a gray, soggy, dreary Monday in the Wichita area, as rain continues to pound down on already sodden soil.
As I listen to the police scanner sporadically report the latest in a line of flood warnings for the region, I’m reminded of a meteorological detail that can be significant but is often overlooked by the public: how fast a storm system is moving.
When it’s a supercell, whether a tornado moving at 30 miles an hour or 60 miles an hour will have a significant impact on how much time people have to get to safety. When it’s a thunderstorm dumping steady rain, the difference between 10 miles an hour and 30 miles an hour can mean the difference between a healthy summer dousing – or flooding.