Californians are bracing for a second atmospheric river storm hitting the Golden State within one week, bringing heightened risks of dangerous flooding, hurricane-force winds, and potential mudslides and landslides from Sunday through Tuesday.
Key Facts:
- Northern and central California face a hurricane-force wind warning, expecting wind speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour, a record for the region.
- Los Angeles County anticipates heavy rainfall, with up to 6 inches in valleys and 12 inches on mountaintops and foothills.
- Evacuation orders are issued for parts of Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Shadow Hills, with San Jose issuing mandatory evacuations for riverside communities.
- Approximately 171,000 customers have lost power, particularly along the northern and central California coast.
- Long Beach may experience up to 7 inches of rainfall, prompting recovery concerns following last week’s atmospheric river.
Key Background:
- Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow atmospheric regions carrying large water vapor amounts, posing threats to California and the Pacific Northwest.
- The current storm is identified as a “Pineapple Express,” a variant of atmospheric rivers typically affecting California’s coast.
- These storms can deposit almost 15 times the water of the mouth of the Mississippi River, and the Pineapple Express carries warm tropical water vapor from Hawaii to the U.S. West Coast.
- Concerns arise about the impact on the 2024 Grammy Awards, scheduled in Los Angeles amid a flood watch and predictions of heavy rainfall.
Tangent:
- The weather’s potential effect on the Grammy Awards is uncertain, with Los Angeles already under a flood watch and predictions of substantial rainfall. Other events in the city, such as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, have been canceled or postponed due to adverse weather conditions.