A powerful storm has drenched wildfire-scarred Northern California, triggering mudslides and flooding, while heavy winds toppled utility poles and downed trees in what meteorologists called a “bomb cyclone.”
Up to 10 inches (25 cm) of rain were expected to wash over the West Coast on Sunday, said meteorologist Marc Chenard of the Weather Prediction Center at the National Weather Service.
“It’s an atmospheric river already moving through Northern California,” he added, describing the storm as a “bomb cyclone,” an intense weather event when the barometric pressure drops quickly.
The storm follows the busiest wildfire season in California history and heightens threats of flash flooding. Much of the region is in severe, extreme or exceptional drought, as classified by the US Drought Monitor.
“Burn scars, that’s the area where the water tends to run off quicker, so that’s where the biggest flash-flood risks are,” Chenard said. “Warnings are of life-threatening flash flooding in and around the burn scars.”
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