![]() ![]() Pacific Standard Time by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite. The image above was acquired on January 4, 2023, at 1:20 p.m. However, the rapid succession of atmospheric rivers leaves communities more susceptible to flooding and could cause landslides. Atmospheric rivers occur regularly in wintertime, and they account for up to 50 percent of all rain and snow that falls in the western United States. The series of atmospheric rivers drenching California in recent days could be seen as welcome relief to the state’s persistent drought. Dark green areas on the map indicate a narrow band of moisture flowing from the tropical Pacific toward the West Coast, making this atmospheric river an example of a “ Pineapple Express.” The image was derived from NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System, Atmospheric Data Assimilation System (GEOS ADAS), which uses satellite data and models of physical processes to calculate what is happening in the atmosphere. Precipitable water vapor is the amount of water in a column of the atmosphere if all of the water vapor were condensed into liquid. Pacific Standard Time on January 4, 2023. This map shows the total precipitable water vapor in the atmosphere at 5:30 a.m. Some areas south of Big Sur saw 6 to 8 inches of rain in 24 hours. About 1 to 3 inches of rain fell on communities near Santa Cruz and San Francisco on the evening of January 4, but the storm continued to drop rain on the Bay Area as it moved east on January 5. ![]() On the evening of January 4, wind speeds exceeded 100 miles per hour near Lake Tahoe. A plume of moisture from the tropical Pacific interacted with a low-pressure system that rapidly strengthened over the northeast Pacific, producing a storm that caused flooding, toppled trees, and downed power lines.Īccording to the National Weather Service, coastal areas of California saw wind speeds of 40 to 80 miles per hour. While the January rains have helped southern California, they’ll need to occur more often to get this year back to normal-let alone to reduce rainfall deficits that have accumulated since 2011.Just four days after heavy rain hit California, the state was drenched with another atmospheric river on January 4 and 5, 2023. Looking at the 2016 water year to date, it’s clear that while some interior portions of California as well as northern California have recorded above-average precipitation, areas to the south, including the heavily populated coastal corridor stretching from Santa Barbara to San Diego, have seen precipitation less than 75% of normal. Of course, one wet month isn’t going to erase California’s drought. On January 31 in southern California, up to an inch of rain fell across dry coastal regions, 2-4 inches of rain were observed in the mountains in Santa Barbara County, and up to eight inches of snow blanketed ski resorts. Over the next two days, a developing storm system along the coast brought those rains farther south, where rains had been less infrequent. In particular, on January 29, an atmospheric river – a narrow band of moisture that comes straight out of the tropics – was pointed directly towards northern California.ĭuring the event, liquid water totals exceeded 3 inches (greater than 5 inches in some places) across the Sierra Nevada, with at least an inch of rain falling across most of northern California. Starting from the middle of January, a factory line of storms continuously came ashore across northern California, dropping snow across higher elevations and heavy rain elsewhere. ![]() NOAA animation by Dan Pisut, NOAA Environmental Visualization Lab, based on data provided by the University of Wisconsin/SSEC MIMIC. This animation is based on satellite-based estimates of "total precipitable water," which is the amount of liquid water available in the atmosphere to fall as rain or snow. Rivers of tropical moisture flowed from the western Pacific to California from January 15–January 31, 2016. ![]()
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