Atmospheric River

What is the atmospheric river

An atmospheric river is known as a large swath of concentrated moisture. They can range from small scale storms to Category four threats. Atmospheric rivers pull water vapor directly into the atmosphere, and people who live in areas affected by them usually call them rivers in the sky. The one that impacted California and Nevada lasted 3 days, from January 26th to January 29th. Unfortunately, this atmospheric river was powerful, as it encompassed a large area and caused landslides, mudflows, and made debris damage housing.

As with many different types of tropical weather, the river brought strong downpour and powerful winds, that ranged from 60 mph to 120 mph at Lake Tahoe. The rain lasted approximately 24 hours, or even longer in some areas. These were not the only effects of the storm. Hail and snow accumulated in places that that variation of weather had only been observed on rare occasions. In relation to the altitude, the atmospheric river brought more snow the higher land was. Mudslides were common as well, especially in places close to Bay Area and the west coast. One report detailed that a woman had witnessed mud flowing through her entire house. Along with the mudslides came flash flooding and the flow of debris as well. Firefighters and rescuers worked extremely hard to save people trapped under debris or the flow. Due to all these factors, many roads like Interstate 5 and Interstate 80 were closed, houses were damaged, and damage to trees and powerlines was widespread.

To make matters worse, California had just experienced its worst wildfire season in 2020, and the atmospheric river amplified the effects of the wildfire. Many large forest fires leave marks in the ground called wildfire burn scars. These scars make the landscape barren and easy to shift around, which makes it very volatile when storms like this atmospheric river come along. Flash floods produced by the downpour coupled with these burn scars created a powerful force for civilians to deal with. They overturn cars, push them off the road, and enter houses, which is exactly what happened at the end of January in both California and Nevada.

The reason for this storm again points towards climate change, and how it is currently affecting weather patterns in the pacific. The more lethal storms like this atmospheric river are only going to become stronger and stronger in the future. The infrastructure in both California and Nevada has not been built to withstand the effect of these tropical weather conditions, which is why homes and businesses have been damaged by the river. However, there is a way to help the people damaged by this event right now, even though climate change cannot be reversed in a few days or climate campaigns. This is by donating to a charity regarding tropical storms on the West Coast. Here are some listed down below.

Atmospheric River Charities

-https://greatnonprofits.org/org/los-angeles-fire-department-foundation

-https://www.charitychoices.com/charity/humane-society-united-states-disaster-relief

References

Graff, Amy. “What You Need to Know about the Atmospheric River Poised to Slam Bay Area.” SFGATE, SFGATE, 26 Jan. 2021, www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/atmospheric-river-biggest-storm-year-San-Francisco-15898760.php.

“California Atmospheric River Triggered Flooding, Debris Flows and Feet of Sierra Snow: The Weather Channel - Articles from The Weather Channel.” The Weather Channel, weather.com/forecast/regional/news/2021-01-25-california-forecast-atmospheric-river-debris-flows-flooding-snow.

“Storm Pounds California, Nevada With Rain, Wind and Snow.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2021-01-27/california-storm-raises-risk-of-debris-flows-in-burn-areas.

Berwyn, Bob. “A Surge From an Atmospheric River Drove California's Latest Climate Extremes.” Inside Climate News, 3 Feb. 2021, insideclimatenews.org/news/02022021/a-surge-from-an-atmospheric-river-drove-californias-latest-climate-extremes/.

“What Are These Atmospheric Rivers That Bring Heavy Rain and Snow to California?” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2021, www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-01-28/what-are-these-atmospheric-rivers-that-bring-heavy-rain-and-snow-to-california#:~:text=An atmospheric river hitting the,slope of the Sierra Nevada.&text=These low systems have counterclockwise,Coast, creating an atmospheric river.