Residents in southern California are faced with flood warnings as a result of a winter storm that is expected to bring heavy rainfall and winds to the region.
According to USA Today, the National Weather Service (NWS) sent out “flood warnings and advisories” for places such as Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties, as a result of an atmospheric river.
The NWS warned that “over a half foot of rain could fall by the end of the week,” and that “lives and property are in great danger,” according to the outlet.
“Severe, widespread flash flooding is expected,” the NWS said. “In addition, areas that normally do not experience flash flooding will flood. Furthermore, lives and property are in great danger.”
As a result of the storm, officials also issued an evacuation order for an RV resort in Ventura County, while officials in Los Angeles County “issued evacuation warnings and orders in areas ravaged by wildfires earlier this year,” according to the outlet.
In a post on X, the NWS Los Angeles issued a flash flood warning for Glendale, Pasadena, and Thousand Oaks, until 12:00 p.m. PST.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), atmospheric rivers are “like rivers in the sky.”
The NOAA website explained:
Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere — like rivers in the sky — that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. While atmospheric rivers can vary greatly in size and strength, the average atmospheric river carries an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Exceptionally strong atmospheric rivers can transport up to 15 times that amount. (To compare the amount of water transported by an atmospheric river to the flow of an actual river, scientists calculate the mass of water vapor in the atmospheric river and divide by the density of liquid water.) When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) revealed he had “directed state agencies and emergency management partners to pre-position emergency crews, equipment, and resources ahead of forecasted heavy rain” and strong winds.
“When severe weather threatens our communities, we don’t wait to react,” Newsom wrote in a post on X. “We get ahead of it.”
The storm is expected to “slam Southern California for most of Wednesday, and the wet weather will stick around through Friday,” according to ABC7 Los Angeles.
The NWS warned that there were “60 mph wind gusts in some areas,” according to the outlet.