Posted on 11/30/2012 3:04:06 PM PST by blam
California Is About To Get Pummeled With Rivers Of Rain
Mark Fischetti, Scientific American
November 30, 2012
An atmospheric river (thin yellow band) feeds torrential rain into northern California on Nov. 30.
Northern California is experiencing the first days of what weather forecasters are warning will be a long series of torrential rainstorms that could cause serious flooding across the northern one-third of the state.
The relentless storms are being driven by a feature in the atmosphere you have probably never heard of: an atmospheric river.
Oh, and another atmospheric river created the worst flooding since the 1960s in western England and Wales this past week, where more than 1,000 homes had to be evacuated.
An atmospheric river is a narrow conveyor belt of vapor about a mile high that extends thousands of miles from out at sea and can carry as much water as 15 Mississippi Rivers.
It strikes as a series of storms that arrive for days or weeks on end. Each storm can dump inches of rain or feet of snow. For more details, see this feature story that Scientific American has just published, written by two experts on these storms.
Scientists discovered atmospheric rivers in 1998 and have only recently characterized them fully enough to allow forecasters to warn of their arrival.
They can strike the west coasts of most continents, but California seems to be a prime target. As many as nine small atmospheric rivers reach the state each year, each lasting two to three days, including the famous “pineapple express” storms that come straight from the Hawaii region of the Pacific Ocean.
This story was originally published by Scientific American. Reprinted with permission.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Sorry Excellence. I am sure you personally don’t deserve any of this. I am an Orange County girl and had my two oldest babies at St Joseph’s, married a marine that was at El Toro (since closed). Lived thru an El Nino or two, maybe an El Nina, I wasn’t paying attention. Those days were the days I remember when I think of Cali. That state wouldn’t want my conservative butt now.
That being said, God is in control.
I hope you are safe.
California needs rain. In Southern California, we’ve experienced one of the worst droughts of my lifetime.
Just looked at the latest weather map, and it looks like it’s already mostly gone past us, heading eastward. We still have a light drizzle here in Hollywood.
In La Jolla (San Diego) people are praying for rain. There are tons of Pelican, Cormorant, and seal crap piled on the rocks. You can smell it a mile away. The state environmental regulations prevent the city from hosing down the rocks.
Doesn’t Northern California have some lightly maintained levees that are always just about to break?
I love rain!
Or one of His angels. Certainly is an interesting visual pattern.
Already knee deep in snow in the Town of Mammoth Lakes so far today and it is just light snowfall. More on the way!
The birds
“Doesn’t Northern California have some lightly maintained levees that are always just about to break?”
Yes
Don’t worry, they have been working like crazy to put up 20 foot walls on both sides of I-5. You’ll be able to drive right thru it.
Maynard was so cute and cuddly. What happened?
Too close to reality.
The high desert is so flat the water has nowhere to go and just piles up into the front door. I hope this bypasses us; I’m in no mood for this.
Take care.
Right now, neither do I.
First thing Monday morning, the state legislature will vote to tax the rainfall.
First thing Monday morning, the state legislature will vote to tax the rainfall.
An ark is starting to look like a good idea! ;-)
My in laws live in Placer County. They say the wind is scary.
Every tiem I’ve been to SF in the last two decades the place has smelled like urine.
It could use a good scouring.
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