What's happened
A powerful bomb cyclone is impacting the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, bringing hurricane-strength winds and heavy rainfall. Flood warnings are in effect as the atmospheric river is expected to cause significant flooding, mudslides, and hazardous travel conditions through the week. Over 400,000 customers are without power due to the storm's impact.
Why it matters
What the papers say
According to Axios, the bomb cyclone has already caused significant disruptions, with hurricane-force winds affecting parts of Oregon and Washington. The National Weather Service has warned of dangerous conditions, stating that 'dangerous flash flooding, rock slides, and debris flows are likely.' Meanwhile, the New York Times highlights that this storm could deliver as much as 20% of the region's annual rainfall in just a few days, emphasizing the potential for severe flooding. Bloomberg notes the persistence of the storm, with forecasts indicating it will last several days, which could exacerbate the flooding situation. The Independent adds that the storm's rapid intensification qualifies it as a bomb cyclone, which is characterized by a significant drop in atmospheric pressure, further fueling the storm's strength.
How we got here
The current storm is the result of a rapidly intensifying low-pressure system in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, which has directed a strong atmospheric river towards the region. This phenomenon has been exacerbated by climate change, leading to increased moisture and precipitation extremes.
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More on these topics
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Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region on the West Coast of the United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho.
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The National Weather Service is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the purposes of protec
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Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and also known as D.C. or Washington, is the capital city of the United States of America.
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California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.5 million residents across a total area of about 163,696 square miles, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area, and is also the world's thirty-fourt
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Colorado is a state in the western United States encompassing most of the southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains.
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New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States of America; its capital is Santa Fe, which was founded in 1610 as capital of Nuevo México, while its largest city is Albuquerque with its accompanying metropolitan area.
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco and colloquially known as The City, SF, or Frisco and San Fran, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California.
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La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of El Niño, as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation climate pattern.
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The Pacific Northwest, sometimes referred to as Cascadia, is a geographic region in western North America bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and by the Rocky Mountains on the east.