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Atmospheric River Bringing California Back-To-Back Storms
An atmospheric river is bringing a series of winter storms to California, in what could be both a blessing and curse for the wildfire-ravaged state.
The first storm has already brought some 4-8 inches of rainfall to parts of the coastal ranges and Sierra, bringing road flooding in places.
Further systems are expected to hit first on Tuesday/Wednesday, focused on San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, with the second moving south of Point Conception.
It is hoped that the storms will bring an end to the wildfires that have scarred vast swathes of Southern California in recent weeks.
However, heavy rain brings with it flooding risks and—for areas recently scorched by fire—the potential for dangerous debris flows and mudslides.
An atmospheric river is a massive band of water vapor that carries rain to an area.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a forecast: “A prolonged atmospheric river event will continue to bring moderate to heavy rain with a risk for flooding to northern into Central California, with heavy mountain snow in the Sierras, southern Cascades and northern Rockies through midweek.
“High winds may bring power outages and make for difficult travel across northern Nevada and the central Rockies.”
NOAA
Flood watches have been issued across California’s Bay Area and Central Coast from 4 p.m. local time Monday to 4 a.m. Wednesday, with those in affected areas encouraged to monitor ongoing forecasts and be prepared to take action if living in a flood-prone property.
“The strong atmospheric river bringing the heavy flooding rain concerns over northern California should persist through the first part of the week as a stationary front remains anchored in place,” NOAA predicted.
As the river passes over the higher topography of the coastal ranges and northern Sierra Nevada foothills it should yield an additional 5-10 inches of rain, NOAA added—and there is also a slight risk of excessive rain in northern California going into Tuesday.
By later Tuesday and Wednesday, the front will be finally settling southward, but this will bring heavy rainfall down into central California including the Bay Area and portions of the Central Valley, NOAA said.
It added: “Several inches of new rain can be expected here, and a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall has been depicted going into early Wednesday.”

NOAA
Atmospheric rivers are narrow, flowing columns of water vapor that develop in the lower atmosphere, barely a mile above the ocean’s surface.
They typically begin over tropical regions, where warm temperatures and strong winds respectively cause ocean water to evaporate and move across the Earth.
When atmospheric rivers cross onto land and encounter mountainous terrain they are pushed upward. This cools the water in the river, causing it to condense out as a rain- or snowstorm.
Atmospheric rivers can grow to be hundreds to thousands of miles long and hundreds of miles wide, meaning that they can transport water across the globe at a rate equivalent to 7-15 times the average daily discharge of the mighty Mississippi River.
Rivers like the one currently buffeting California that begin in the waters around Hawaii are often dubbed the “Pineapple Express.”
It is estimated that some 30-50 percent of the precipitation over the U.S. West Coast each year results from atmospheric rivers.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about atmospheric rivers? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
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