Extreme Storms Are The New Normal In New Jersey [AUDIO]

No, it's not your imagination. More frequent and severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall appear to be the new normal in New Jersey.

Environment New Jersey released the findings of its new report 'When it Rains, It Pours: Global Warming and the Increase in Extreme Precipitation from 1948 to 2011' which examines data from 3,700 weather stations throughout the country from 1948 to 2011.

Clean Energy Advocate Matt Elliot says, "We're seeing heavy rains happen 33% more frequently in New Jersey now than they were 65 years ago. So, said another way, an extreme rainstorm that used to hit New Jersey once every 12 months on average, now occurs once every 9 months on average"

Elliot says the findings also show the frequency of storms with extreme precipitation has also increased 85% in the northeast and that the biggest rain and snowstorms are getting even bigger.

To that he says, "More frequent downpours are going to leave New Jersey more vulnerable to dangerous flooding in these kind of very intense storms that we've been seeing."

However, that doesn't mean more drinking water will be available. Elliot says scientist say the extreme periods of rain will also expose us to extreme periods of evaporation and soil dryness and that could set us up for drought conditions in the future.

You can see the full report online.