That’s roughly $1.1 billion in damage done by atmospheric rivers every year. Some atmospheric rivers are weak and produce beneficial rain, helping vanquish devastating droughts. In 2016, a series of larger atmospheric rivers helped ease California’s epic drought by producing record rain and snow in the northern part of the state. AdvertisementBut larger, more destructive atmospheric rivers can cause extreme rainfall, floods and mudslides. As the climate warms, extreme atmospheric rivers will become more intense, researchers found.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 04, 2019 18:56 UTC