Atmospheric river bound for Bay Area, officials urge preparation

Sounds wet.

Fire Marshall is telling me to clean my gutters.

I still don't understand what an atmospheric river is

Atmospheric rivers are hugely influential for California’s weather and water supplies. They cause the state’s heaviest rains and feed the biggest floods. They drive its cycles of dry and wet, famine and feast. But they also cause a large share of the state’s levee breaches and debris flows. One atmospheric river can be enough to flood homes, down power lines and wash away hillsides and highways. And when several sweep ashore in a matter of days or weeks, as has been happening this season, the potential damage is multiplied. Atmospheric river storms get their name from their long, narrow shape and the prodigious amount of water they carry. They form when winds over the Pacific draw a filament of moisture from the band of warm, moist air over the tropics and channel it toward the West Coast. When this ribbon of moisture hits the Sierra Nevada and other mountains, it is forced upward, cooling it and turning its water into immense quantities of rain and snow. Climate scientists also distinguish atmospheric rivers from other kinds of storms by the amount of water vapor they carry. These amounts form the basis for a five-point scale used to rank atmospheric rivers from “weak” to “exceptional.” As humans continue burning fossil fuels and heating the atmosphere, the warmer air can hold more moisture. This means storms in many places, California included, are more likely to be extremely wet and intense.

Oh, crap.

We can easily take all 20 inches.

They used to call it rain but that was too boring so it had to be rebranded.

I'm hopeful for another heavy snow year in the Sierras like 2 years ago. Cross-country ⛷️!!!

I'm in the target area. We were living with drought up until a few years ago, which is simply no fun at all, especially for avid gardeners like me. Atmospheric rivers seem to be new; heavy rainfall never had such a name before. In the olden days we got a lot of rain in my area.

Flooding, leaks, all of that is awful, but summer with no lack of water is divine.

Soon it's gonna rain

I can see it

Soon it's gonna rain

I can tell

Soon it's gonna rain

What are we gonna do

Soon it's gonna rain

I can feel it

Soon it's gonna rain

I can tell

Soon it's gonna rain

What'll we do with you

We'll find

Four limbs of a tree

We'll build

Four walls and a floor

We'll bind

It over with leaves

And duck inside to stay

Then we'll let it rain

We'll not feel it

Then we'll let it rain

Rain pell mell

Then we'll not complain

If it never stops at all

We'll live and love

Within our own four walls

🎶 It's raining men! Hallelujah! It's raining men! Amen! 🎶

Bomb cyclone destroys homes in Washington

Why is President Biden punishing the Bay Area? I thought he only used his weather powers to go after MAGAts! That's what I was told on Twitter and Facebook; that Joe Biden created the hurricanes to hurt Trumpers.

What did we ever do to you, Joe? What did we do?!?!?

Interstate 5 closed near California-Oregon border as huge storm dumps multiple feet of snow

Snow?!

It was a giant nothing burger today in San Francisco. Wildly hyped but didn’t rain much,

Sounds like a nightmare. That was interesting R4.

Higher elevations received BBC levels of rain.

It didn't amount to much yesterday in Sacramento. All local rainfall was under an inch. Only sprinkles today, but 2 in. expected tomorrow. Just grateful the winds aren't like the last two huge storms we got in January of this year and January of '23. The winds were so strong we lost hundreds of beautiful older trees. Their root systems had moved up during the drought and they weren't as firmly anchored to the ground.

I'm an hour and a half due north of Sacramento and it has been pouring nonstop since early yesterday morning. Our house is not in a flood zone but the large old trees are creaking portentously. MARY!

Yeah, we were predicted to get almost two inches yesterday, but it blew north of us. I was surprised to see how much snow fall there was along the CA OR border. I don't recall so much snowfall this early

They are dumping powdered water on us here. It rains but remains dry. Clearly It's a desperate effort to sabotage the glorious new regime. Those devious crafty Democrats.

Just blowy, thin rain in SF yesterday and today. You barely need an umbrella. Still, we'll take it! The hills will start turning green soon.

Still pouring buckets up an hour north of SF. I'm near the Russian River region. I think it only stopped for a little bit this morning, but other than that, it's been pouring nonstop since yesterday at 2am.

Wait 'til tomorrow bitches! Two and a quarter inches whoo, hoo!

Fuck California, the greatest IRS contributor in our nation! Right?

[quote} I'm near the Russian River region.

It's a beautiful area but I can't imagine what flood insurance costs, or even if it's available.

Two and a quarter inches aren't enough for me.

A second bomb cyclone is forming over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday that will re-launch a strong atmospheric river into the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, forecasters said.

“A secondary surface cyclone is forecast to develop off the Northern California coast (Thursday). The GEFS model is forecasting AR 3-4 conditions from the Bay Area to Southern Oregon through Friday,” wrote meteorologists with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes.

KRON4 Meteorologist John Shrable explained, “Heaviest of rainfall moves north for much of the Bay Area today offering a comparatively calm day to yesterday. Tomorrow the atmospheric river (will) shift back southward, and with that, will bring the heaviest of rain directly to the core of the Bay Area.”

On Friday morning, “a deluge, super heavy rain” will pour on Marin and Sonoma counties, Shrable said. The storm will continue moving south over San Francisco, the East Bay, and the South Bay on Friday afternoon.

[bold] Between 3-7 inches of rain is forecast to drench the North Bay between Thursday-Friday, according to the National Weather Service Bay Area. Up to 3 inches of rain is forecast for the rest of the Bay Area and Central Coast.

The cold front will bring widespread impacts, including potential flooding, the NWS said.

On Wednesday, Santa Rosa recorded its second-wettest day in more than 100 years, the NWS reported. Seven inches of rain fell on Santa Rosa within 24 hours.

The NWS wrote, “The North Bay received a tremendous amount of rain (Wednesday), even surpassing our high expectations. We aren’t expecting quite as much rain (Thursday), but it will still be substantial with an additional 1-3 inches in the valleys and more in the mountains. As such, flooding impacts will continue. Winds will remain strong through the day, leading to more tree damage.”

A Wind Advisory will remain in effect from 10 p.m. Thursday through 10 p.m. Friday along the entire Bay Area coastline and at high elevations. Wind gusts will reach 50 mph in some areas, NWS said.

The system is considered a bomb cyclone, which happens when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

I'm near the Russian River, too. We have flood insurance, have to, because we're in a 100 year flood zone. Not as bad as on the river where it seems to flood about every ten years.

Lots of local flooding, closed roads, downed trees and such. I ventured out to the grocery store and it took twice as long as usual because of closed roads. Saw some flooding.

Sonoma County has always been wetter than most of the state, but we're getting more extreme with hotter summers and these "atmospheric rivers" that I never heard of until recent years. Learned new things: bomb cyclones and bombogenesis (includes snow), two extreme weather terms. Our atmospheric river was caused by an offshore bomb cyclone and the bombogenesis is happening in the mountains where it's also snowing heavily.

Good lord, we've had a break in the rain before the next atmospheric river is about to roll in.

I was finally able to take my dog out for a short walk.

...And it was about a half hour lull before it began raining again. Just started.

We’ve had drizzly rain all yesterday and last night.

My brother is coming over tomorrow to clear out gutters. He beat me up when we were little, so I feel it’s the least he can do.

He will get Gouda, sliced apple, and Ritz crackers as a snack, plus hot chocolate if he wants it.

Friday morning: Still just drizzly, on-off rain here in SF. Supposed to last into Tuesday.

Still drizzling. I live in the coastal mountains, and the problem is rainstorms can take out our electricity for days at a time.

There’s a lot of trees up here on the edges of deeper ravines, hills, carved-out roadways, etc. Extended or heavy rain washes soil away from the roots, and eventually one topples over and rips down power lines with it.

So if you suddenly don’t hear from me for a while, that’s what happened[bold] : (

It has been raining on and off today in Sonoma County; not quite like the downpours we've had over the past 2 day, with more periods of no rain. I'm hoping it continues to decrease. this has been difficult for my dog, who is not happy about going outside to the yard.

San Francisco residents got an emergency flooding advisory for this afternoon. One to three inches of rain in a short period. That’s new in our modern world.

My cat is looking at the ceiling. He doesn’t understand what the pitter patter sound of rain on the roof is.

Sometimes I call him Baby Dimwit.

I had to be out driving around SF this afternoon right in the middle of the flooding advisory period. Not drizzling! More than a few backed-up street drains. But everyone seemed to be driving carefully. And at a stop light on Dolores St. I noticed new, green blades of grass starting to come up on the median strip. And of course now that I'm back home it's back to just drizzling.

Just checked out radar and there's some nasty stuff Just weat of SF. Winds are from the south of Sacramento should get it this evening. It's been steady all day, but not heavy. That's coming.

[italic]I can’t live with the uncertainty!

^west of SF

Total dollface R37!

Meantime in other news: Dry and sunny in So Cal.

I feel for my NorCal and Bay Area peeps experiencing flooding, but it's looking like a good base of snow in the Sierras. My X-Country ski place doesn't open until Thanksgiving day. I'll probably be heading over on Black Friday for some skiing. Better than hanging around town with the meth crazed shoppers and casino crazies. Whee!

I love being drenched in atmospheric rivers of cum!

Rain makes for a good sleep r37

Okay - it’s raining harder now.

We do not like this!

You’d have to be passed out in a gutter to drown in SF but I realize they have to keep people off the roads.

[quote]R48 You’d have to be passed out in a gutter to drown in SF

The weekend has only just begun.

Sonoma County again.

Now after 3 solid days and nights of rain, the ants have decided to move in.

FML.

Rained pretty hard all day here in North Beach. I own a little shop and had my first ever zero sales day in 8 years. Boo. Supposed to be nicer out tomorrow. I grew up in the Midwest so, the rain doesn’t bother me but this was pretty extreme for SF. The worst rain in the 20 years I’ve lived in California was actually in LA about 5 years ago.

Storm causes flooding across San Francisco

20 inches oh dear. Some people take that all once.

There's an atmospheric river headed to my shitter .. prepare for mudslides.

And some of us, gotta work our way up to it. 😂

“Route 1 is WASHED OUT!”

A henna rinse might spark it up?

“It’s because California is dirty and the lord is warshing it!”

Atmospheric river

He must know somethin’

Be he don’t say no nothin’

Route 1 still isn't repaired from the last time it washed out.

I live just north of NYC and since early this morning my rain meter shows 3.3 inches of rain 🌧- badly needed rain . We’ve had very little rain in the last four months.

The Russian River is flooded

This usually happens for us in January, and not in bombcyclone amounts of rain...more sustained with a chance for it to absorb into the earth. That it is happening now is a little worrisome.

I rent a studio in Santa Rosa and for the past day or so, there is water that barely leaks in if I step on a certain floorboard.

It's just too much water, too quickly, for it to absorb into the ground.

it stopped for about 2-3 hours...and now it's a regular steady drizzle again after all this downpour over 3 days.

I really hope this lets up over the weekend. otherwise my studio might be under water.

Well, it's over for Sacramento until Monday. It rained just over two inches yesterday, under the predicted 2.8. I think that brought us up to 3.5. One thing I've noticed about storm forecasts over the last couple if years of obsessive checking is that the predicted weather is usually delayed by a day or so and the rainfall totals significantly less.

Sacramento < than Sonoma County

of course.

omg it's not raining. Finally. i think we've had at least a few hours over night without rain.

however, it's set to start again tomorrow at 11am through Monday.

My dog is finally *thinking* about going outside, but most likely not for at least a day or so of sustained non-rain. Thank god I still have the fake grass potty spot I bought for him since he was a puppy and was used to using to pee and poop. I took him out yesterday for a walk in the rain and all he did was pee (the longest pee I've ever seen a dog take).

...and i spoke too soon. ^^ raining again.

[quote]My cat is looking at the ceiling. He doesn’t understand what the pitter patter sound of rain on the roof is.

Sit kitty cat, we won't be home for hours and hours.

It finally stopped! Shit, now I have to clean up the mess in my backyard.

Sunny and lots of shoppers today! Woohoo!

FINALLY not raining and sunny-ish here too.

Ever since California started getting more rain, I’ve been loving the cheap avocados 🥑

No rain all day (Sat.) up here in the mountains.

But cold and grey. I don’t trust it.

80% of avocados sold in the U.S. originate in Mexico.

a foot of rain

12 inches at least.

that's 30.48 cm to the rest of the world.

Sunday: Damp in the mountains, with all wild animals in hiding. But no rain.

i locked my dog outside for a good 30 minutes while it was not raining and somewhat sunny.

he doesn't believe we will ever be without rain.

i'm serious.

he scratched on the door much of the time.

[quote] 12 inches

I'm moving to California!

That woman in white is a Datalounger out in drag on a Sunday.

Why were you so mean to your dog, r80? Did you expect praise from Datalounge? Why weren't you right by his scared side right out there?

I got scared because it suddenly rained again tonight for half an hour, then it stopped.

Oh god. Oh god, oh god, oh god!

Sonoma County resident here. The 10 day forecast is for sun and clouds, no rain! Yay!

Sadly, it hastened the leaf drop of my colorful fall trees.