In total, the series of storms caused $1.6 billion in damages, destroying 20,000 homes and 1,500 businesses. Thirteen people died in the storms, 50,000 others were displaced by the flooding, and the state recorded $400 million in damages to property and infrastructure. The Napa River crested over 30 feet, flooding its banks at the 100-year mark. Bucks Lake in the Feather River Basin recorded almost 50 inches of rain, while Calistoga in Napa County measured 29 inches of rain. When this series of storms hit California from February 11-24 in 1986, scientists recorded huge rain totals. Screenshot from The Forgotten Flood 1986 Northern and Central California Flooding in Linda, California-about 40 minutes north of Sacramento-in February 1986 after an atmospheric river event. But when a strong AR builds and then stalls on land-as is predicted to happen this weekend and early next week-these events can cause mud slides, floods, and “catastrophic damage to life and property.” According to NOAA, 30-50 percent of the annual precipitation in the west coast states occurs in just a few AR Events. Most of them are weak, don’t cause damage, and simply provide beneficial rain or snow that is crucial to California water supply. Think of an atmospheric river as a fire hose that funnels moisture from the tropical Pacific towards California.Ītmospheric rivers come in many different shapes and sizes. Courtesy of the Weather Channel What is an atmospheric river?Īll of this precipitation is caused by an atmospheric river (AR), a narrow band of moisture that can transport huge amounts of water vapor towards the West Coast. Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) website on atmospheric rivers in California, here are four other winter storms that caused serious destruction.Īn atmospheric river is expected to bring heavy rain and mountain snow to California. The warmer series of storms that will pummel California on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday is forecasted to deliver enough precipitation to flood rivers and seriously disrupt travel.
Much of the San Francisco area is already in a flash flood watch and Northern California is expected to receive upwards of 12 inches of rain and between 10-20 feet of snow (head over here for more on the forecast). There’s no guarantee that the upcoming series of storms will result in similar destruction, but the forecast doesn’t look good. Slated to hit California on Saturday with inches of rain and feet of snow, previous atmospheric river events have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Tuesday were in the Santa Barbara and Ventura areas, including 4.26 inches in six hours at San Marcos Pass and 3.35 at Ojai Summit.A storm one meteorologist is calling “a once-in-10-year-event” is headed to California as we speak, all thanks to a phenomenon called an atmospheric river. The 48-hour total for the October storm, where available, is shown in the right column.Īs the most intense part of the storm passed across Southern California, the state’s largest rainfall totals from midnight to 6 a.m. 23-25, almost all locations reported less rain this time around - but the difference was smaller at Peninsula and South Bay sites. These are raw numbers, meaning they have not been checked by the agency’s quality control process.Ĭompared with the Bay Area’s previous big storm, Oct. Updated: For the 48 hours ending at noon Tuesday, the National Weather Service recorded the following totals (in inches). Rainfall totals for the storm that started Sunday show an unusual pattern, with the heaviest rain in the Santa Cruz Mountains rather than the North Bay.
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