As many as two more atmospheric rivers could douse the already sodden West Coast in the next week, according to weather experts with the state’s Department of Water Resources.
While the Bay Area is in the midst of a storm expected to last into Wednesday, at least one more storm system and potentially two are likely to cross over California between March 19 and 22.
According to state Climatologist Michael Anderson, most of Northern California and virtually the entire coast of the state are likely to receive an average of between 2 and 6 inches of rain over the next six days.
“Fortunately there’s … a few days in between, but that’s pretty significant,” Anderson said during a briefing on the state’s weather forecast. “Two storms to hit within a seven-day period. And so we will see some impacts associated with the fact that we’re still moving water from the first (storm) through the system while that second event comes ashore.”
Anderson did note that the exact timing and magnitude of the storms is not certain yet, and the state may only see one storm system between the Bay Area and San Diego over the next week.
According to DWR officials, 13 rivers across the state are expected to flood due to this week’s storm while the state plans to monitor another 32 for potential flooding.
The storms that have pelted the West Coast over the last six weeks have replenished many of the state’s largest waterways and storage facilities.
According to Molly White, the chief of water operations for the State Water Project, Lake Oroville is at roughly 75 percent of its total capacity, accounting for 116 percent of its historical average storage at this time of year.
A handful of the state’s other reservoirs, including Lake Sonoma, the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County and Lake Don Pedro in Tuolumne County have surpassed 100 percent of their historical average storage levels for this time of year.
Wetter and more frequent storms, climate crisis. I know the politicians like drought and wildfire better cause they can through money at fire fighting and tell people to conserve water, jack up the price of water etc. They don’t like the opposite cause it requires real solutions, like building more reservoir capacity, fortifying levees, ground water management, things they don’t seem capable of doing. But they will raise taxes using either situation as an excuse.
WC- – – Creeker you are one hundred percent right.Great minds think alike.
As a close to 60 y.o. native Californian, I’ve seen these weather patterns repeat time and time again. They used to call it a rain storm, precipitation etc. Now an atmospheric river which sounds so serious and devastating.
Wasn’t it Chicken Little that screamed the sky is falling. Never thought when I read that book that the world is full of Chicken Littles. The world is like, “That Old Man River”. He just keeps rolling along.
Maybe yesterday was a test. If so it worked well. That’s why they ordered two more. Now I’ve lived here for over 30 years and there were only a few big storms but they were one and only.