"Research suggests that much of the state will endure more extreme precipitation events that drive floods, mudslides and debris flows."
"Flooding rains and record snow in California last week marked another extreme swing of the state’s climate pendulum. The widespread downpours triggered mudslides that damaged homes and roads near some of the huge fire scars from last summer, and also brought some of the water the state will need to end a months-long hot and dry streak and douse a record-setting wildfire season that extended into January.
The storm included a long stream of moisture from the subtropical Pacific Ocean, called an atmospheric river, that inundated the state from north to south for three days. Atmospheric rivers are concentrated streams of moist air, generally more than 1,200 miles long, up to 620 miles wide and about 1.8 miles deep.
Last week’s torrent hit Central California hardest. Several spots reported 24-hour rainfall records and the deluge washed out a 150-foot section of Highway 1 in the vulnerable Big Sur area, where the road clings to unstable mountains that drop steeply to the sea. Just two years ago, another nearby section of the highway was also destroyed by an intense storm."
Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News February 2, 2021.
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