Friday Top of the Scroll: ‘Rivers in the sky’ have drenched California, yet even more extreme rains are possible
For years, scientists have said that atmospheric rivers can either make or break the water supplies of thirsty California cities and farms. For the last two winters, a steady succession of these giant “rivers in the sky” have dumped record-breaking and drought-busting precipitation across the state, while simultaneously causing catastrophic floods, landslides, and dangerous blizzards. But now, new research has found that these recent atmospheric rivers pale in comparison to some of the monster storms that battered ancient California — a sobering revelation that suggests to some experts that the state could be revisited once again by such cataclysmic storms. … The study’s findings do not bode well for a state whose flood infrastructure was severely strained last year, when a train of atmospheric rivers breached numerous levees, flooded communities and re-filled once dry Tulare Lake.
Related articles:
- San Francisco Chronicle: Will California’s historic storms get even more intense? New research may hold a clue
- Los Angeles Times: You’re gonna need a bigger number: Scientists consider a Category 6 for mega-hurricane era
- California Department of Water Resources: News release - One year later – state-led drought task force releases inaugural report laying the groundwork on how to improve drought resilience for California