Flash Flood Warnings on the Road

If you're lucky, you've never experienced a flash flood. According to Weather Doctor Keith C. Heidorn, most flood-related deaths are flash flood-related. Even more astonishing, half of those fatalities happen in or around cars.

A fifty-fifty chance? Those odds wouldn't help you in Vegas. But knowing the facts will help you avoid flash floods. The question is, can a weather station instrument better your odds?

When the barometer rises and the temperature rises, it means pleasant summer days, but the downside is intermittent rain. You can track rainfall in your rain gauge. If your weather station monitor forecasts rain while the rain gauge history and thermohygrometer indicate a moisture buildup, you might want to avoid driving if you can. If you live in a desert or mountainous area with no vegetation to absorb the rain, stay off the roads.

If you must drive, avoid washes, bridges, highway dips and traveling downstream from a dam.

Your survival odds have improved, but don't try your luck at Caesar's Palace yet. As with God and Mother Nature, all bets are on the house.