Atmospheric Pounding: Southern California Prepares For Another "Life-Threatening" Storm
Another powerful atmospheric river-fueled storm is set to produce life-threatening flooding across Southern California late Saturday into early Sunday and extending into next week.
An atmospheric river will drench California from Sunday-Tuesday with over 6 inches of rain in the mountains.
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) February 2, 2024
The moisture plume can be seen streaming in from Hawaii & siphoning moisture from near the equator.
El Niño & an active Madden-Julian Oscillation are contributing to it. pic.twitter.com/sJkq9BBrwj
Marc Chenard, a senior branch forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center, told Bloomberg that the Los Angeles metro area could receive 5 to 6 inches of rain, while Santa Barbara could record upwards of 8 inches. This comes after an atmospheric river-fueled storm dumped rain from San Francisco to Southern California this week.
"Chances are increasing that a lengthy period of heavy rain will develop late Saturday night and continue through most of Sunday and Monday," the National Weather Service in Los Angeles warned in an update this morning, adding, "This storm could generating unprecedented amounts of rain across a widespread area!"
"It does look like it will be a significant event and it will be a longer duration than this past one," Chenard said.
He warned: "The fact that it is later in the year, on top of what has been a wet period, surely makes everything worse."
This weekend's atmospheric river could dump more than a month's worth of rain across much of Southern California in just several days.
Does California now have too much water?
Full spill ahead! 🌊 California officials triggered Oroville Dam's main spillway release this week to mitigate atmospheric river flooding. pic.twitter.com/QCybMoH6H7
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) February 2, 2024
NWS forecasters also warned of the "potential for damaging, life-threatening flooding," urging people to prepare.