Atmospheric rivers are storms akin to rivers in the sky that dump massive amounts of rain and can cause flooding, trigger mudslides and result in loss of life and enormous property damage.
The latest in a series of atmospheric river storms soaked California on Tuesday, causing flooding and mandatory evacuations for residents in 10 counties.
HOW COMMON ARE ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS?
These "rivers in the sky" are relatively common, with about 11 present on Earth at any time, according to NASA.
Most atmospheric rivers are weak and do not cause damage. In fact, they can provide much needed rain or snow.
One such storm last year in drought-stricken California triggered mudslides, toppled utility poles and blocked roadways, but also helped replenish depleted reservoirs and reduced the risk of wildfires by saturating the state's parched vegetation.
HOW BIG ARE THEY AND CAN THEY BE DANGEROUS?
Atmospheric rivers can carry up to 15 times the volume of the Mississippi River, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They appear as a trail of wispy clouds that can stretch for hundreds of miles.
In 2019, an atmospheric river nicknamed the "Pineapple Express" hit California. The water vapor from near Hawaii brought rain and triggered mudslides that forced motorists to swim for their lives and sent homes sliding downhill.
In 2021, an atmospheric river dumped a month's worth of rain on British Columbia in two days, prompting fatal floods and landslides, devastating communities and severing access to Canada's largest port.
WHAT IMPACT WILL CLIMATE CHANGE HAVE ON THEM?
Atmospheric rivers of the kind that drenched California and flooded British Columbia in recent years will become larger — and possibly more destructive — because of climate change, scientists have said.
Columns in the atmosphere hundreds of miles long carry water vapor over oceans from the tropics to more temperate regions in amounts more than double the flow of the Amazon River, according to the American Meteorological Society.
There are projected to be 10% fewer atmospheric rivers in the future, but they are expected to be 25% wider and longer and carry more water, according to a 2018 research paper.
ALSO READ - Soggy California drenched anew as Nor'easter buries New England, New York
Reuters
Wed Mar 15 2023
A California plate is seen at an area affected by floods after days of heavy rain in Pajaro, California, U.S., March 14, 2023. - REUTERS
Rashford must change if he wants Man United return, says Amorim
Marcus Rashford has not played for United since last month, after he admitted he was ready for a new challenge in his career.
How transgender troops prepared to fight Trump's new policy
Advocates argue the executive order stigmatises transgender service members by labeling them medically and morally unfit.
India orders probe into Kumbh festival stampede that killed dozens
The government has decided that a judicial inquiry of the incident will be done, says Uttar Pradesh state Chief Minister.
Tunku Mahkota Ismail calls for mindset change to solve persistent issues in M-League
Tunku Mahkota Ismail also addressed other concerns about late salary payments and some team management's neglect of their clubs' welfare.
What were the aircraft involved in midair crash in Washington DC?
Air traffic control recordings appear to capture the final attempted communications with the helicopter, before it collides with the plane.
Tesla commits to cheaper cars in first half, sees autonomous vehicles 'in the wild' in June
Tesla says the company would start testing a paid autonomous car service in June.
Vehicles plough into people outside KL nightspot, two injured
The police receive a report about the incident from a 24-year-old man who witnesses it.
Girl, 7, dies of suspected abuse by parents
Police says the post-mortem found old and fresh abuse signs on the victim, with death caused by abdominal injuries from a blunt object.
American Airlines jet, Army helicopter collide, crash into Washington's Potomac River
The Washington Post reports that multiple bodies have been recovered from the water.
UK backs third runway at London's Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport is operating at 99% capacity and risks being overtaken in Europe.
Sarawak floods: Number of victims almost doubles to 5,385
Based on the latest report from the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee Secretariat, Bintulu has the highest number of flood victims.
Plane crash in South Sudan kills 20 oil workers
The small aircraft carrying oil workers in South Sudan's Unity State crashed on takeoff from its oilfield airport.
Miri landslide: Residents urged to evacuate if ordered
Sarawak Transport Minister says this is to prevent a recurrence of the recent tragedy in Kampung Lereng Bukit, which claimed five lives.
Families reunite in north Gaza as huge crowds return to smashed homes
Thousands of displaced people returning from south are going back looking for surviving family members and whatever remains of their homes.
Syria's Sharaa declared president for transition, consolidating his power
Sharaa was also empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period and the Syrian constitution was suspended.
Atomic scientists adjust 'Doomsday Clock' closer than ever to midnight
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the clock to 89 seconds before midnight - the theoretical point of annihilation.
Alibaba releases AI model it claims surpasses DeepSeek-V3
Alibaba's cloud unit says, Qwen 2.5-Max outperforms almost across the board GPT-4o, DeepSeek-V3 and Llama-3.1-405B.
India sends navigation satellite into orbit on ISRO rocket in landmark launch
India successfully launched into orbit a new navigation satellite aboard a home-grown rocket.
RON95, RON97 prices unchanged, diesel up by five cents in Peninsular M'sia
MOF announces that the retail prices of RON95 and RON97 petrol will remain unchanged at RM2.05 per litre and RM3.43 per litre, respectively.
Rescuers attempt to recover truck swallowed by sinkhole in Japan
The trailer of the truck was retrieved by rescuers, but the man is still trapped inside the truck and is unresponsive.