Powerful storm hits California amid warnings of ‘potentially historic

A powerful storm has roared ashore in California, flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires. After months of drought, the darkened clouds collecting over the state this weekend were a welcome sight to some. But rather than the much-needed drizzle residents and officials hoped could end a disastrous fire season and dampen dried landscapes, the state got a deluge. Some areas are forecast to see more than 10in (25cm) of rain and thousands across the state have lost power.“A powerful west coast storm is likely to produce areas of heavy rain with life-threatening flash flooding, especially on burn scars, high winds, and significant waves along the coast,” the National Weather Service reported Sunday, adding that “some areas that normally do not experience flash flooding will flood”. Drenching rain and strong winds accompanied the arrival of an “atmospheric river” – a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific Ocean that was predicted to move south over the next few days. The weather service’s Sacramento office warned of “potentially historic rain”. Forecasters predict the record-breaking rainfall and strong winds will continue into Tuesday, wreaking havoc across the northern part of the state, especially in areas close to where fires burned over the last two years. Truly amazing satellite imagery of the powerful storm (technically a "bomb cyclone," as some have noted, due to its very rapid strengthening) affecting nearly the entire West Coast Sunday afternoon. What an incredible specimen of a textbook mid-latitude cyclone! #CAwx #ORwx #WAwx pic.twitter.com/7xgIcxfRaZ“If you are in the vicinity of a recent burn scar and haven’t already, prepare now for likely debris flows,” the weather service wrote on Twitter. “If you are told to evacuate by local officials, or you feel threatened, do not hesitate to do so. If it is too late to evacuate, get to higher ground.”Evacuation orders were issued in several areas – from parts of San Mateo county that burned in 2020 to Santa Barbara county where the Alisal Fire that still hadn’t been fully contained by Sunday morning – and the California Office of Emergency Services also deployed crews to assist in burn scars through the Sierra Nevada range.“This is a reminder to have your go-bag ready and heed any warnings from officials,” the agency tweeted, noting that state emergency resources were being sent to help counties navigate the storm. “Like during a wildfire, if told to evacuate, don’t wait!”The Bay Area is also bracing for record rainfall that is forecast to continue through the day. Debris flows and floods were reported in the North Bay, in parts of Marin, while roads were closed in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland. By sunrise on Sunday, Mount Tamalpais just north of San Francisco had recorded over 6in of rainfall during the previous 12 hours, according to the National Weather Service. The storm is also producing hurricane-force winds that


All data is taken from the source: https://www.theguardian.com/
Article Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/24/california-storm-atmospheric-river


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