Imagine a long stream of water vapor over the sky which enters the West Coast.
Over the weekend, and into next week, parts of the West Coast will turn from extreme drought into a series of bomb cyclones which are causing an atmospheric flow.
The bomb cyclone, named for the speed at which it intensifies or ‘bombs out,’ is likely to approach or set records for the lowest pressure level of a northern Pacific storm.
The storms are referred to as “atmospheric rivers,”- narrow bands of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere that rise from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean and go more than two miles (two kilometers) above the sea.
The storm system moving toward the West Coast is so intense that it is known as the ‘bomb cyclone,’ and is helping to drive a moisture flow toward northern California.
The National Weather Service expects some rain and snow, mostly in northern Utah, on Saturday, but the storm is expected to be smaller than the beginning of the week.
The storm that currently rages along the coast of Washington state is called an “atmospheric river”
The storm is also expected to bring heavy snowfall to the Sierra Nevada for skiers.
⚠️A HIGH Risk of Excessive Rainfall is in effect for portions of Northern California tomorrow. A strong atmospheric river will produce rainfall of 8-10 inches in the region, leading to significant and life-threatening flash floods and mudslides, particularly over burn scar areas. pic.twitter.com/FvACBTpNID
— NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) October 23, 2021
