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New Storm Could Bring More Peril to California Rivers Already Hit by Deadly Flooding

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hayley Smith

A powerful storm barreling toward California from the tropical Pacific threatens to trigger widespread river flooding throughout the state as warm rain melts a record accumulation of snowpack and sends runoff surging down mountains and into streams and reservoirs.

Although state officials insist they are prepared to manage runoff from what is now the 10th atmospheric river of a deadly rainy season, at least one expert described the combination of warm rain, epic snowpack and moist soils as “bad news.”

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How California Atmospheric River Will Impact Snowpack in Sierras

/in , , /by /Newsweekby Robyn White

An atmospheric river is set to descend on California in coming days, following a spate of wet weather across the state.

An atmospheric river is a corridor of concentrated, tropical moisture traveling through the atmosphere. The river has raised an alert for significant flooding throughout California, and experts have warned of severe disruption.

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Two Storms Could Bring More Rain to San Diego County, With the First Arriving Friday Night

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

A 1,000-mile-wide atmospheric river that’s forming in the subtropics will brush San Diego County with light rain Friday and Saturday and bring heavy precipitation to the rest of Southern and Central California, further aiding reservoirs and muting the risk of wildfires, the National Weather Service said on Monday.

The storm is part of a major pattern change that also is expected to produce a second warm, moist atmospheric river that will flow through roughly the same areas on March 14, possibly bringing heavier rain to San Diego, which is experiencing its first wet year in three years.

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Current Rainy Season Could Be a Drought Buster, Forecaster Says

/in , , /by /KPBSby Thomas Fudge

This weekend brought San Diego county one of the season’s biggest winter storms.

A cold storm from the north on Thursday brought low temperatures and snow levels down to 2,000 feet of elevation. Then conditions warmed as an atmospheric river brought tropical moisture to the region.

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Will Colorado River Return to Health This Year? Snowpack Remains a Third Above Normal

/in , , /by /8 News Nowby Greg Haas

February snowfall might have fallen behind January’s brisk pace, but the Upper Colorado River Basin will go into March still well above average snowpack levels.

With all the headlines about snow in California and Utah, the area that matters most to the Las Vegas valley and Lake Mead is the region around the Colorado River’s headwaters — where the river is born among the peaks in and around Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Cold Storm Brings Rain, Blizzard Warnings to California

/in , , /by /AP Newsby Robert Jablon

California and other parts of the West faced heavy snow and rain Friday from the latest winter storm to pound the U.S., while thousands of people in Michigan shivered through extended power outages wrought by one of the worst ice storms in decades.

The National Weather Service warned of a “cold and dangerous winter storm” that would last through Saturday in California.

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Snow Totals: Storm Dumps Nearly 2 Feet on San Diego Mountains With More on the Way From Atmospheric River

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Christina Bravo

When we describe snow on San Diego County’s mountains, it’s typically with words like dusting and slushy. This time, we can safely use the word dumping.

Three to five feet of snow is possible on San Diego’s mountain tops by the time a winter storm combined with an atmospheric river is finished on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

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Biggest Storm Since 2011 Has San Diego County in ‘Crosshairs’

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins and Karen Kucher

The most powerful storm in more than a decade will hit San Diego County late Friday and early Saturday with snow that could cause whiteout conditions in the mountains and shut down Interstate 8, rain that could cause widespread flooding and mudslides, and winds that could make kindling out of trees, the National Weather Service said.

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Storm Damage Across San Diego County: Trees Topple, Roads Closed, Power Out

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Christina Bravo and Amber Frias

A series of storms brought wild weather to San Diego this week, including rain that could cause flooding and gusty winds that toppled trees into cars, homes and streets and led to power outages across the county.

The first of back-to-back storms reached the region Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning had already caused widespread damage. An atmospheric river was slated to reach the county by Thursday, meaning more damage was possible in the days ahead.

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How Do You Track an Atmospheric River? Climb Aboard This Highflying Reconnaissance Jet

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James

The interior of the plane looked like a cross between a private luxury jet and a space mission control room.

The Gulfstream IV cruised at 43,000 feet, high above a seemingly peaceful layer of thick clouds that stretched to the horizon.

Crew members in blue jumpsuits stared at computer screens that revealed their hidden target miles below: a powerful atmospheric river that was churning across the Pacific Ocean toward California, bearing torrential rains and fierce winds.

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