California’s atmospheric rivers, explained | About That

A series of atmospheric rivers caused days of record-breaking rain over parts of Los Angeles, sending mud and boulders down hillsides, cutting power for more than a million people, and damaging infrastructure. Lauren Bird explains what we know about this common and sometimes deadly phenomenon, and its impacts.

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[TipTWhip]

I remember when these things were called storms.

[barblc]

If the settlers hadn't cut down all the forests in the 1800s, those forests would have absorbed a lot of that moisture. Maybe time to think about reforesting the west coast.

[AstroLori]

Lauren bird and team - excellent deep dive on this topic - brilliant resource ❤

[ImNordicCelticSlavicIbericHan]

Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) are alarming; it’s thought that an atmospheric river was responsible for the high heat that hit British Columbia a couple years ago ie Lytton BC and killed marine life along the shore in Washington. Recently, researchers have found that ARs are hitting and contributing to accelerated heating and melting of parts of Antarctica. Floods seem to be only part of what ARs do. We should stop burning carbon. It’s going to get worse with greater extremes in temps and precipitation that weren’t part of the gentle climate society evolved with the last 10000 years.

[pendizzy]

I'm used to this in BC. Canada 🇨🇦

[Supernaut]

California needs all this water for their reservoirs and water tables. Accept the free gift.

[sophiagonzalezrodriguez]

Everytime a volcano shoots plume into the atsmophere it attaches to the moisture and since a volcano doesnt just turn off there is alot creating it to drop when it has too? What goes up must come down. Meteriologist never mention Hawaiis volcanos plume come direcrly to our west coast.

[TobyCostaRica]

1:10 😂😂 wow that storm will screwed us over

[YolandaVolcy]

Hawii got mad 😠 and dumped it on California 😢

[austinharding]

the thing, among any others, that puts so cal, and large extent NorCal in danger with these rain bursts is our soil composition, see most of the coastal hills here are made up of former sea bed sediment, further inland you get [as close as the la Puente hills] but mostly the inland empire an eastward it becomes terrestrial alluvial deposits, which tend to undergo "cementation"., but by the coast its all sea floor alluvials, which r made up almost exclusively of silt and clay, unless yr near the tops of the hills where the exposed bedrock lies at the surface most of this silt/clay mix hasn't been buried deep enough to undergo compaction, add to that the physical properties of clay; clay has a particle size in the .01 micrometers, which = very low porosity, it also has very very high water retention, basically water enters it, but cant go thru it, as well as has a harder time leaving it via evaporation or whatever; clay soaks up water like a sponge and doesn't let it go or drain once its waterlogged(waterlogged is stage above saturated), i think(hope) you see the picture im painting here and y mudslides are so easily prone here, so i will leave it here

[davidprimeau]

a few years ago we were told that California would just get dryer and dryer. it’s a lot like Australia, floods and droughts are common

[Gnarmarmilla]

Thank you for covering this. However, I think it’s sad that you don’t point out how this rain is desperately needed right now. A far more tragic situation unfolding in California is the long running drought which is causing wildfires and other terrible environmental consequences.
The report has a depressing tone to it but California is being blessed with rain right now and we should all rejoice at that.
We also might see another Super Bloom of wildflowers due to the rain in Cali again. So I look forward to that too.

[Irvingstine]

El Niño causes the Pacific jet stream to move south and spread further east. During winter, this leads to wetter conditions than usual in the Southern U.S. and warmer and drier conditions in the North. El Niño also has a strong effect on marine life off the Pacific coast.

[connieadams]

Get over it !
We need to snow and water here in central California.

[thomassmith]

In 2024, our planet enters a 12, 000-year cosmic cycle. Since then natural disasters and calamities will intensify and occur much more often.
You can learn analytics and forecasts of climate disasters for the coming years, and ways to solve the problem here: *"Global* *Crisis.* *The* *Responsibility"* *Creative* *Society*

[billferner]

They have it every year - so, why they are not prepared for it?

[lindadiaz]

Yep it's bad unfortunately it's going get worse, then continue west ward

[cwp]

This sh*t ain't nothing to me man
We out here cloud seeding
Got the scope gleaming

[lorihaberstroh]

Barstow here, and the rain
What Desert lol?

[russkopecky]

New like a new buzz word doesn't it