Status:Ongoing analysis Material Status: Finalised Material from: Fernando, David L., Linus
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Discussed in the following Daily reports: |
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1. Impact
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A major storm was responsible for the floods in California on 17-19 February (strong winds were reported as well). This was not the first event of the season and California has been battered by anomalous wet weather. The week before more than 150K people were forced to abandon their homes due to a problem with a crack in Lake Oroville's dam as a result of excessive water. The anomalous wet season came after several years of drought conditions in California. |
2. Description of the event
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Maps of total precipitable water based on an algorithm using microwave observations from polar orbiting satellites that are generated at Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) are available to the public. Based on these maps we can detect the presence of atmospheric rivers (ARs) which were responsible for the large amounts of precipitation that occurred in California last weekend (see DR of yesterday). A stream of high values of precipitable water stretches from subtropical region, crossing the Hawaiian Islands towards the coast of Washington State, sliding equatorwards along the coast and reaching Southern California 2 days later, embedded in the extra-tropical cyclonic circulation.
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4. Experience from general performance/other cases
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5. Good and bad aspects of the forecasts for the event
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