First of back-to-back atmospheric rivers drenches California
Newsy
The Los Angeles and San Diego areas expected heavy rain on Thursday, and an even more powerful storm is expected to follow on Sunday.
Heavy rain flooded roadways and much-needed snow piled up in the mountains on Thursday as the first of back-to-back atmospheric rivers pummeled California.
The storm focused its energy on the southern and eastern parts of the state after initially hitting the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, where it halted cable car service. The downpours arrived in Southern California on Thursday in time to snarl the morning commute.
The Los Angeles and San Diego areas were expecting a deluge of rain on Thursday, “especially for some of the higher elevations where they tend to get most of the rainfall — or the heaviest rainfall — with these atmospheric river events,” National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec said.
An atmospheric river is an area where “the moisture is more confined and the winds are stronger and pushing these higher moisture values on shore,” Oravec said.
“They typically occur ahead of cold fronts across the Pacific,” he said. “And when they interact with the West Coast topography, you often get some very heavy rain both along the coastal ranges and also inland through the Sierras.”
