(AP) — Heavy rains are part of the winter wet season in Hawaiian Islands. But the downpours triggering flooding that destroyed homes and bridges and set off mass evacuations on multiple islands this week are also an example of the more intense rainstorms that climate scientists say are occurring more frequently as the planet warms. Meteorologists are extending a flash flood watch for the entire state through Friday because of the potential for more rain and because the ground is already so saturated. Hawaiʻi’s state climatologist says large flooding episodes may no longer be once-in-a hundred-years events.

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