11:29 a.m. ET, February 5, 2024
An atmospheric river is parked over Southern California, and it’s amplifying flood risk
A powerful atmospheric river-fueled storm is moving at an agonizingly slow pace across Southern California, directing a firehose of moisture at deluged cities for hours at a time.
Storms normally track across the US from west to east at a steady pace, but a feature in the atmosphere well above the surface is standing in this storm’s way, causing it to get stuck over Southern California. With nowhere to go, the storm continues to tap into the tropical moisture in the atmospheric river, increasing the heavy rain and flood threat.
The storm’s slow pace is very bad news for the region, as the longer rain lingers, the worse the flooding will likely become.
“This setup is a textbook case for widespread flooding,” the Weather Prediction Center said Monday morning.
Some Southern California cities may see rain for 48 consecutive hours. It’s been raining in Los Angeles nonstop since early Sunday afternoon, with rain likely to continue at varying intensities through Tuesday before becoming showery in nature.
Continuous rainfall — even if it isn’t heavy – increases the risk of flooding by overwhelming soaked soils and causing rivers and streams to rise with almost no opportunity to recede.
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