A “brutal” storm, capable of generating torrential rains and life-threatening flooding, will hit California in the middle of the week, forecasters warned Tuesday. This powerful low pressure system is expected to sweep up the Pacific coast of the United States on Wednesday and Thursday, and authorities urge residents to prepare.
“This is truly a brutal system and it must be taken seriously,” the US Weather Service (NWS) warned.
According to the NWS, the storm will cause “extensive flooding, submerged roads, mudslides, downed trees, widespread power outages, immediate business disruption, and worst of all, likely loss of life.”
Record rain in San Francisco
Hit hard by years of drought, the west coast has been plagued for several weeks by a series of storms that have brought near-record rainfall in some places.
Some areas in Northern California are still reeling from a powerful storm that hit on New Year’s Eve, causing mudslides and power outages. At least one person died after being trapped in their car by floodwaters, authorities said.
On December 31, San Francisco recorded the second wettest day in its history since the measurement was released, with 14 centimeters of precipitation.
On Tuesday, a fine rain had already reached California. Rainfall is expected to intensify significantly on Wednesday and Thursday, with nearly 5 inches of rain expected in the state capital, Sacramento.
The agency advises residents of threatened regions to prepare an “emergency bag” so they can evacuate quickly if necessary, and warns of potential landslides or mudslides.
The expected rain is coming from an “atmospheric river,” a narrow band in the atmosphere that carries large amounts of moisture from the tropics. These rivers in the sky, which concentrate volumes of water vapor equivalent to the liquid transported by certain large terrestrial rivers, are not at all exceptional in winter in California.
But the current phenomenon is accompanied by a “low-pressure bomb”, a system capable of suddenly and very quickly lowering the pressure, thus generating very violent winds.
Source: BFM TV
