Atmospheric river drenches California

A long and wide plume of moisture from the Pacific Ocean brought a deluge of rain to drought-stricken and fire-scorched California counties. By Sunday morning, some parts of Northern California had recorded 6 inches of rain in 12 hours. Flooding was reported across the San Francisco Bay Area, closing streets in Berkeley, inundating Oakland’s Bay Bridge toll plaza, and overflowing rivers in Napa and Sonoma counties. Southern California braced for heavy rains and mudslides as the storm moved its direction, toppling trees and causing mudflows.

Doesn’t California need rain? Yes, but this much precipitation this fast can cause dangerous floods and landslides, especially in areas where recent fires have charred vegetation. California Highway Patrol closed a stretch of State Route 70 in Butte and Plumas counties because of multiple landslides within the massive Dixie Fire burn scar.  “If you are in the vicinity of a recent burn scar and haven’t already, prepare now for likely debris flows,” the Sacramento weather service tweeted. “If you are told to evacuate by local officials, or you feel threatened, do not hesitate to do so.”

Dig deeper: Read The Sift’s coverage of this year’s wildfire season out West.