{"672831":{"#nid":"672831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Assessing the California Storms","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs Californians begin to dry out after a week of near-constant rain, residents are assessing damage from the recent storms. Meanwhile, scientists are evaluating the storm itself and reflecting on how it fits into the larger landscape of weather events.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EParts of California \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2024\/02\/05\/us\/california-rainfall-map.html\u0022\u003Ereceived 10 to 15 inches of rainfall in a day\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 the amount they might usually get in a season. Many areas experienced mudslides, landslides, flooding, power outages, and other issues. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon to see increased precipitation during the winter in California,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/handlos.eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EZachary Handlos\u003C\/a\u003E, senior academic professional in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \u201cThe problem is when it\u2019s too much at once, which is exactly what happened.\u201d \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAn atmospheric river, as it is called, is a weather phenomenon that transports water moisture from the ocean toward land areas following relatively narrow paths. As \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/annalisabracco\/\u0022\u003EAnnalisa Bracco\u003C\/a\u003E said, most of these are harmless and useful. In an El Ni\u00f1o year, though, the ocean is warmer than usual, and more moisture is carried in the atmosphere. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cIs this event exceptional? Yes and no. It is not the strongest recorded, but it\u2019s up there among the very strong,\u201d said Bracco, professor and associate chair for research in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. \u201cThe problem is that global warming is poised to make strong atmospheric rivers more common. Warming tends also to make the atmosphere more stable, which implies that weather systems evolve more slowly. And this atmospheric river indeed moved slowly, causing more damage.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThough California\u2019s geography is somewhat unusual in having atmospheric rivers, other areas experience them as well. Handlos noted that, though the terminology is not used as often, a similar effect can take place with southwesterly winds from the Gulf of Mexico toward the Atlanta area when impacted by weather systems.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBoth Bracco and Handlos cautioned against attributing a single event to climate change too quickly but said that the California storm has all the markings of one that was more intense because of warming. \u201cIt is in line with all global warming predictions: more extreme weather events, conducive to both floods and droughts.\u0022\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAs recovery efforts begin, Handlos noted that this storm was very much in line with forecasts. But even with preparations, damage can be severe.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThe good news is that it wasn\u0027t some sort of day-before surprise, but even with excellent forecasting, you can only do so much to prepare for landslides and flooding,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are still going to be unfortunate consequences for people in the area, even with preparations.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHe expects climatologists will look at the data from this event soon, and for several years to come.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFaculty members in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences share their expertise following the recent storm in California.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Faculty members in Georgia Tech\u0027s School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences share their expertise following the recent storm in California."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2024-02-08 14:58:43","changed_gmt":"2024-02-23 01:53:02","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-02-08T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2024-02-08T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"673024":{"id":"673024","type":"image","title":"Atmospheric River Over California","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAtmospheric River Over California. Image courtesy of NOAA\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1707446496","gmt_created":"2024-02-09 02:41:36","changed":"1707446792","gmt_changed":"2024-02-09 02:46:32","alt":"Atmospheric River Over California","file":{"fid":"256367","name":"Screenshot 2024-02-07 at 8.15.02 PM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/08\/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%208.15.02%20PM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/02\/08\/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%208.15.02%20PM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":6073269,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/02\/08\/Screenshot%202024-02-07%20at%208.15.02%20PM.png?itok=fJ52lJG5"}}},"media_ids":["673024"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu","title":"Georgia Tech School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"url":"https:\/\/sites.gatech.edu\/annalisabracco\/","title":"About Annalisa Bracco"},{"url":"https:\/\/handlos.eas.gatech.edu\/","title":"About Zachary Handlos"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71911","name":"Earth and Environment"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}