[ti:Damage atop Damage: 'Atmospheric River' Storms Strike California Again]
[al:Science & Technology]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2024-02-06]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]In California, the second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers on Monday caused heavy rains and mudslides, flooded roadways and cut electric power.
[00:16.56]Atmospheric rivers are long and wide areas, like a river, of water vapor in the atmosphere that form over an ocean.
[00:29.41]The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says these weather systems carry as much water vapor as the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. 
[00:46.44]When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
[00:57.65]Much of California was still drying out from the atmospheric river that blew in last week. 
[01:06.75]Over the weekend, officials ordered people living in parts of California that burned in recent wildfires to evacuate. 
[01:18.71]These areas are at high risk for wreckage flows.
[01:23.84]About 1.4 million people living in the Los Angeles area, were under a flash flood warning Monday morning. 
[01:34.21]Up to 23 centimeters of rain had already fallen in the area, with more expected, the National Weather Service predicts.
[01:47.03]It called the flash flooding and threat of mudslides, "a particularly dangerous situation."
[01:56.29]Keki Mingus, from the Studio City area of Los Angeles, said that mud, rocks, and water came down through her neighborhood. 
[02:08.70]Mingus said, "It looks like a river that's been here for years. I've never seen anything like it."
[02:17.73]The rains brought down trees and power lines Sunday in the San Francisco Bay Area. 
[02:25.87]Winds in the northern area blew as fast as 95 kilometers an hour. 
[02:32.69]In the mountains, they were even stronger with gusts reaching almost 130 kilometers an hour.
[02:43.50]Palisades Tahoe is a skiing area about 320 kilometers northeast of San Francisco.
[02:53.76]The skiing area was expected to have the heaviest snowfall yet this season on Sunday, as much as 15 centimeters per hour for a total of up to 60 centimeters. 
[03:11.02]Heavy snow is continuing into Monday throughout the Sierra Nevada and motorists were urged to avoid mountain roads.
[03:23.31]Just to the south in San Jose, emergency crews rescued people from a car trapped by floodwaters.
[03:32.56]Other teams rescued people living beside a rising river.
[03:38.70]For the Central Coast, the weather service issued a rare "hurricane force wind warning," with wind gusts of up to 148 kilometers an hour.
[03:52.33]The storm then moved into Southern California, where officials warned of possible severe flooding. 
[04:01.84]They ordered people to leave canyon areas where there were recent wildfires.
[04:09.47]Officials are concerned about the high risk of wreckage flows in those areas.
[04:17.35]The latest atmospheric river storm is called a "Pineapple Express" because it stretches across the Pacific from almost as far as Hawaii.
[04:30.86]"We've had flooding, we've had gusty winds, we've had the whole gamut here," said Todd Hall, a weather scientist with the National Weather Service near Los Angeles.
[04:44.61]Hall said he expects the heavy to moderate rain to continue in southern California until Tuesday.
[04:53.97]California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for most areas of the state.
[05:03.50]The Governor's Office of Emergency Services activated its operations center and deployed workers and equipment in areas most at risk.
[05:17.74]I'm Caty Weaver.