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California is bracing for a turbocharged storm brought on by an atmospheric river that’s set to dump torrential rainfall, bring damaging winds and cause potentially life-threatening flooding.
To say this area isn’t used to this kind of rain is an understatement. The highest possible flood risk has been issued by the Weather Prediction Center and evacuations have been ordered in some coastal communities.
Get the full forecast here, and look ahead to next week here.
Read on for our updates from Saturday:
Preparations Underway
Evacuations and road closures have already begun. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office issued evacuation warnings due to the heavy rainfall expected.
Cal Fire crews in Ventura filled more than 1,000 sandbags in preparation for the potential flooding.
The mayor of Los Angeles is mobilizing resources for any emergencies, calling preps an “all-hands-on-deck effort.” The L.A. Department of Water and Power is on standby for outages. The city has also increased shelter availability to accommodate for people as they move away from high flood risk areas.
The California Department of Transportation started pre-treating the roads to help drivers better handle slick conditions.
In related news: NASCAR’s Busch Light Clash set to be raced in Los Angeles has been moved up by one day to try to beat the inclement weather. NASCAR issued a statement saying, “We understand weather conditions may worsen as the day progresses, so we encourage fans to make decisions in the best interest of safety.”
Grammy Implications
While the 66th Annual Grammy Awards are the least of California’s concerns during this storm system, the show must go on. The award show is set to be held on Sunday evening in Los Angeles. Luckily, L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena is completely indoors.
However, stars could be walking a flooded red carpet, blasted with wind, and entering the venue swamped, soaked and stressed.
What To Expect
From weather.com Digital Meteorologist Jonathan Belles:
This event is expected to bring several widespread hazards to the state:
-Torrential rainfall will lead to flooding, especially in Southern California. The Southern California foothills could see 10+ inches of rain.
-Damaging wind gusts could down tree limbs and powerlines. Some gusts will surpass 60 mph and could climb to 80 mph in the mountains.
-Heavy snow is expected in the Southern California mountains and the Sierra Nevada. The heaviest snow of the season is expected. Over 80 inches of snow are possible in parts of the Sierra.
-Rip currents, choppy surf and dangerous swells are expected along the Pacific coast.
-A few waterspouts and tornadoes are possible.
What Is An Atmospheric River?
Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport water vapor, like a river in the sky. When the river makes landfall, all that water vapor is released in the form of rain or snow.
The average atmospheric river carries enough water vapor to equal the flow of the Mississippi River.
The type of atmospheric river hitting California right now is also sometimes called a “Pineapple Express” because the plume of moisture stretches back across the Pacific to near Hawaii.
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