Another ‘Pineapple Express’ storm is expected to wallop California
LOS ANGELES — Another potentially dangerous “Pineapple Express” storm was expected to hit California late Saturday, bringing the threat of flooding and mudslides in the coming days.
Californians prepared Friday and Saturday for what forecasters say could be the biggest storm of the season, with the worst of the storm expected to hit Ventura and Santa Barbara counties on Sunday and Monday. Most of the state was under some form of wind, surf or flood watch Saturday afternoon.
The storm marks the second time this week that the state has been battered by an atmospheric river, a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific Ocean. The first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, bringing downpours and heavy snow that halted cable car service before moving south to Los Angeles and San Diego on Thursday.
This past winter, California was ravaged by numerous drought-ravaging atmospheric rivers that caused extensive flooding, large waves that battered coastal communities and extraordinary snowfalls that crushed buildings. More than twenty people died.
This “Pineapple Express” – so named because the atmospheric river’s moisture plume extends across the Pacific Ocean to near Hawaii – was expected to arrive in Northern California on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy rain and strong winds were expected overnight into Sunday.
The storm is forecast to move south along the Central Coast and hit the Los Angeles area starting Sunday morning with downpours, flash flooding and high-altitude mountain snow. The attack is expected to hit further south on Monday, in Orange County and San Diego. Heavy to moderate rain is expected to continue to fall across Southern California through Tuesday.
The National Weather Service predicts 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) of precipitation in the coastal and valley areas of Southern California, with 6 to 12 inches (15.2 to 30.5 centimeters) likely in the foothills and mountains. Precipitation rates are expected to be 1.3 to 2.5 centimeters per hour, with locally higher precipitation rates. Forecasters predict mudslides, debris flows and flooding will occur.
Mountains above 7,134 feet (2,134 meters) are likely to receive 2 to 4 feet (0.61 to 1.2 meters) of snow.
According to the National Weather Service, parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties will likely be hit hardest by this storm. The south-facing slopes in the Transverse Ranges will receive the heaviest rainfall, and flooding will likely be exacerbated by already saturated ground from previous winter storms.
Evacuation orders were issued for parts of Ventura County and part of Santa Barbara County, including along burns caused by wildfires, and in coastal areas of the city of Santa Barbara. High winds will contribute to dangerous seas.
NASCAR moved The Clash at the Coliseum to Saturday night out of concern about impending bad weather. Only heat races were scheduled for Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but with heavy rain and flooding forecast to begin on Sunday, NASCAR abruptly changed the schedule.
The Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, northeast of downtown Los Angeles, canceled the eight-race schedule scheduled for Sunday. The park also moved a pair of graded stakes, the Grade III, $100,000 Las Virgenes and the Grade III, San Marcos, to next Saturday.
More damage is possible this year with El Nino, which is expected to bring additional storms to California, caused by temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that is changing weather worldwide.
Rising sea levels due to global warming are also causing waves off the coast of California to get bigger, according to research. The coast also has some of the highest tides of the season.