Major storm pummels California for second day

Southern California received torrential downpours on Monday with parts of Los Angeles receiving over 6 inches of rain, according to the California Nevada River Forecast Center. As of Monday evening, authorities were reporting at least three confirmed deaths from falling trees. On Sunday, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for several counties in Southern California, including L.A. and San Diego. The storm is expected to last through Wednesday.

Why is the storm so large? The National Weather Service says the storm results from an atmospheric river. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an atmospheric river is a long narrow region in the atmosphere that contains extremely large amounts of water vapor from the tropics. This weather phenomenon can cause flooding and heavy snowfall.

Dig deeper: Listen to Dr. Nathan Howell on Concurrently talking about climate change.