A 'monster' coming this weekend: Bomb cyclone, atmospheric river to blast western US
A series of potent storms is poised to deliver torrents of rain and feet of snow across the West over the next few days, including one on Sunday that's being called a "bomb cyclone" because of its ferocity.
Supercharged by a classic atmospheric river pattern, the storms could lead to flash floods and dangerous debris flows in a wide swath of the region already devastated by wildfires, CNN said.
Still, despite the danger, the rain and snow will be welcome across drought-plagued areas of the West. As of Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly 92% of the western U.S. is in some level of drought. The rain will help stop smoldering wildfires and could ease water restrictions on farmers.
California has been hit especially hard by the drought. It has had some of the hottest, driest months on record in the past year. Some of California’s most important reservoirs are at or near historic lows heading into the rainy season.
"The pattern unfolding this week to next week may be one of the biggest series of storms for the rainy season for California, but there is still potential for a couple of bigger storms over the winter," AccuWeather forecaster Paul Pastelok said.
Emily Heller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento, said, "This is definitely going to be one of those ground-soaking events."
https://www.yahoo.com/news/monster-coming-weekend-bomb-cyclone-173406622.html