01:19 Study: 90% Increase in Sunny Day Flooding Since '90s A new study shows a 90 percent increase in sunny day flooding since the '90s, and we spend 100 million hours a year sitting traffic delays because of it.

At a Glance Nuisance flooding is costing us millions of hours in driving delays each year, a study has found.

Sunny-day floods have increased 90 percent over the last 20 years along the East Coast.

Road delays could increase from 100 million hours a year to 3.4 billion hours by 2100 along the East Coast alone.

Sunny-day flooding along East Coast roadways has increased dramatically in recent years, and a recent study concluded it's only going to get worse – and our commutes will pay.

The findings, released in mid-March in the scientific journal Transportation Research Record, show a 90-percent increase in "nuisance floods" – flooding that comes from seasonal high tides or minor wind events, as the study notes – along the East Coast over the past 20 years. This translates to more than 100 million hours of delays each year for drivers impacted by the flooding, the study added.

"This could be just the beginning of impact on these areas ," Dr. Jennifer Jacobs, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of New Hampshire and an author of the study, said in a release. "With the continued rise in sea levels, nuisance flood frequency is projected to grow and the effect on the physical roads and the people that live along the coastline is concerning."

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The study projects this increase in nuisance flooding means road delays will approach 160 million hours annually by the end of the decade, 1.2 billion hours by 2040 and 3.4 billion hours by 2100. The amount of time we spend on East Coast roadways will rise, in part, because the number of days we have to endure coastal flooding will increase due to rising sea levels.

<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/gettyimages-490536626.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/gettyimages-490536626.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com/util/image/w/gettyimages-490536626.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > Mayabel Rents waits for a bus next to a flooded street on Sept. 29, 2015 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

In fact, nuisance floods might occur almost daily in Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina and Florida, even if sea level rise is on-par with intermediate projections, the study also said.

Currently, more than 7,500 miles of coastal roads are impacted by nuisance flooding, 400 miles of which are interstates, according to the study.

"As tidal coastal flooding increases in the coming years, there will also be issues with the transportation infrastructure," said Jacobs in the release. "We've already seen billions of dollars in damage to coastal roadways from recent hurricanes. In the future, with rising sea levels, we expect to see more frequent issues, more damage, and impact to roadways even farther inland."