<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:14pt"><div>http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25088877/california-drought-desperately-needed-rain-courtesy-pineapple-express?source=rss# <br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><br></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; "><h1 id="articleTitle" class="articleTitle" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; color: inherit; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-size: 33px; white-space: normal !important; border-collapse:
collapse; ">California Drought: Desperately needed rain, courtesy of 'Pineapple Express' slamming into California</h1><div id="articleByline" class="articleByline" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 22px; "><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:progers@mercurynews.com?subject=San%20Jose%20Mercury%20News:" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-weight: bold; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; "><div class="bylinejb" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/20px 'Helvetica Neue',
Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; ">By Paul Rogers<br></div></a><div class="bylineaffiliation" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/20px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; "><a class="articleByline" href="mailto:progers@mercurynews.com?subject=San%20Jose%20Mercury%20News:" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-weight: bold; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; "></a><a href="mailto:progers@mercurynews.com" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration:
none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; ">progers@mercurynews.com</a></div><div id="articleDate" class="articleSecondaryDate meta" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 10px/16.989px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(128, 128, 128); text-transform: uppercase; white-space: nowrap; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 5px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 22px; ">POSTED: 02/07/2014 05:19:57 PM PST <span style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px;
">|</span> <span id="dateUpdated" title="02/08/2014 06:36:50 AM">UPDATED: ABOUT 7 HOURS AGO</span></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><br></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span></span><div class="articlePositionHeader" style="text-align: left; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><div class="articleImageBox" style="text-align: left; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); width: 600px;
"><span class="articleImage"><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5715446" target="_new" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; "><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2014/0206/20140206__0207rain~2.JPG" width="600" height="399" title="A bicyclist tries to stay dry near San Jose State on Feb. 6, 2014." alt="A bicyclist tries to stay dry near San Jose State on Feb. 6, 2014." border="0" style="height: auto; vertical-align: middle; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></span><div class="articleImageCaption" style="text-align: left; font-weight: bold; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;
margin-top: 0px; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font: normal normal normal 0.8em/1.3em 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, sans-serif; padding-top: 4px; padding-bottom: 10px; width: 600px; ">A bicyclist tries to stay dry near San Jose State on Feb. 6, 2014. (Gary Reyes/Staff file)</div></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span></span><div id="articleBody" class="articleBody" style="text-align: left; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; line-height: 22.652px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><div class="articleViewerGroup" id="articleViewerGroup" style="text-align: left; float: right; border-top-width: 0px;
border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><span class="articleEmbeddedViewerBox" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "></span><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span><div class="articlePosition1" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; "><div class="packagesGrpBox" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 5px; width: 200px; height: auto; "><div class="packagesHeader" style="text-align: left; -webkit-user-select: none; color: rgb(57, 84, 122); display: block; font: normal normal bold 18px/21px Oxygen, 'Trebuchet MS', Merriweather, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-left: 0px; text-rendering:
optimizelegibility; text-transform: uppercase; "><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/drought" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; ">MORE COVERAGE: DROUGHT</a></div><div class="packagesBox" style="text-align: left; padding-bottom: 3px; "><div class="rss-box" style="text-align: left; padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 3px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><ul class="rss-items" style="list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; margin-top: 22.652px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 20px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; "><li class="rss-item" style="line-height: 22.652px; display: list-item;
font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; position: relative; text-align: left; color: rgb(14, 52, 127); font-size: 11px; background-image: none; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; background-position: 4px 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/data/ci_25059942/water-usage?source=autofeed#" title="" target="_self" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-size: 16px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none;
border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; display: list-item; font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; position: relative; text-align: left; background-image: none; ">Data Center: Average water usage by supplier in California</a></li><li class="rss-item" style="line-height: 22.652px; display: list-item; font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; position: relative; text-align: left; color: rgb(14, 52, 127); font-size: 11px; background-image: none; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important;
padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; background-position: 4px 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25090363/california-drought-water-use-varies-widely-around-state?source=autofeed#" title="" target="_self" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-size: 16px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; display: list-item; font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue',
Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; position: relative; text-align: left; background-image: none; ">California Drought: Water use varies widely around the state</a></li><li class="rss-item" style="line-height: 22.652px; display: list-item; font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: none; position: relative; text-align: left; color: rgb(14, 52, 127); font-size: 11px; background-image: none; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; background-position: 4px 6px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; "><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25088877/california-drought-desperately-needed-rain-courtesy-pineapple-express?source=autofeed#" title="" target="_self"
style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; font-size: 16px; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.2; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px !important; padding-bottom: 0px !important; padding-left: 0px !important; display: list-item; font: normal normal normal 12px/14px 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: auto; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; position: relative; text-align: left; background-image: none; ">California Drought: Desperately needed rain, courtesy of 'Pineapple Express' slamming into
California</a></li></ul></div></div></div></div><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span></div><span fd-type="start" fd-id="default"></span><div class="bodytext" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The storms expected to finally bring Northern California a desperately needed deepdrenching this weekend after the driest year in state history aren't just random showers.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">They are the result of a developing situation that scientists call "an atmospheric river," and recent research has shown that they have played a
significant role in breaking droughts in the past.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Sometimes known as "the Pineapple Express," these rivers of rain are long, narrow bands of highly-concentrated moisture that are formed in the Pacific Ocean and barrel eastward until they hit land, bringing downpours and flooding.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">When they hit California, they pack an amazing punch. Just one can carry 15 times as much water as the Mississippi River.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom:
11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"It's essentially a fire hose of water brought up from the tropics that comes up and crashes into the West Coast," said Michael Dettinger, an atmospheric scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">And one is hitting now, moving up from Hawaii.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">By Monday, forecasters
expect 2 to 4 inches of rain to have fallen over San Francisco and the East Bay, 2 inches over the South Bay, 4 to 6 inches over the Santa Cruz Mountains and Marin County, and a soaking 7 to 9 inches over parts of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. The Sierra could get 3 feet of snow.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">That will almost certainly rank as the biggest storm to hit the Bay Area in 14 months, since San Francisco received 1.39 inches of rain on Nov. 30, 2012. It may even be the biggest in four years, when 2.48 inches drenched San Francisco on Oct. 13, 2009.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif
!important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Another storm is expected on Wednesday, but that doesn't mean the drought is over. Far from it.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"We need a bunch of these. It's a decent beginning, but we need more," said meteorologist Jan Null, with Golden Gate Weather Services in Saratoga.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"The fire danger will go way down, and you'll probably start seeing some green in the hills," he said. "But hopefully people won't think they can go back to
their old ways of using water. We are still so far behind."</div><div class="subhead" style="margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; text-transform: uppercase; -webkit-user-select: text; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.652px !important; ">DEEP DEFICIT</div><div class="bodytext" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">To put the lack of rain in context, San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco all have received between 2 and 3 inches of rain since July 1. That puts them at about 25 percent of normal for this time of
year. Even if this weekend's powerful storms double that total, which is a real possibility, Bay Area cities will still be just 50 percent of normal.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"It's really great. It's so needed. But it doesn't mean people should stop conserving," said Andrea Pook, a spokeswoman for the East Bay Municipal Utility District, in Oakland.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The district's board on Tuesday is expected to vote to ask customers for a voluntary 10 percent reduction in water use, similar to other large
Bay Area water agencies.</div><div class="articlePosition4" style="text-align: left; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; width: 400px; "><div class="articleImageBox" style="text-align: left; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; color: rgb(136, 136, 136); margin-right: 10px; width: 400px; "><span class="articleImage"><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5715448" target="_new" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; "><img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2014/0207/20140207_093448_ssjm0208RIVER90_400.jpg" width="400" height="469" title="" alt="" border="0" style="height: auto;
vertical-align: middle; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "></a></span></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">This weekend's storms will offer a reminder of what winter looks like after California suffered in 2013 through the driest year since it became a state in 1850, with reservoirs at record-low levels, farmers fallowing fields and fire danger high.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"Most likely we'll get ponding on the
roadways, and urban and small stream flooding," said Larry Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. "You could see some minor mud slides. It's definitely going to be a messy weekend."</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The rain will provide residents a chance to put out empty garbage cans or other large containers to catch rainwater to use later on plants. It also should begin to fill depleted reservoirs.</div><div class="subhead" style="margin-top: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 8px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; color: rgb(89, 89, 89); font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important;
text-transform: uppercase; -webkit-user-select: text; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22.652px !important; ">ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS</div><div class="bodytext" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">On Friday, a team of scientists from NOAA, Scripps and other institutions flew in a plane loaded with weather instruments from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield out 800 miles off the California coast into the heart of the atmospheric river now heading east.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"The goal is to better forecast these events: the
location, the amount of precipitation and where they make landfall," said Ryan Spackman, with NOAA's Earth System Research Lab in Boulder, Colo., who is working on the project.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The term "atmospheric river" was coined just 15 years ago, when new technology allowed scientists to put microwave equipment on satellites that better measured water vapor patterns in the air.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Since then, scientists have come to realize that such systems transport huge amounts of water in
warm, moist air like conveyor belts to California. Even though they are only a few hundred miles wide, a few such storms often provide the bulk of the state's annual water and snow.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Atmospheric rivers are responsible for nearly 50 percent of all the precipitation on the West Coast. They have been the cause of historic storms, Dettinger's research shows, from the 1861 floods that forced Gov. Leland Stanford to take a row boat through the streets of Sacramento to his inauguration to the downpours of 1997-98, which flooded Yosemite Valley.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif
!important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Unfortunately, this weekend's atmospheric river doesn't make future storms more likely. But it does show that the stubborn ridge of high pressure off the West Coast that has blocked storms for more than a year can break down, said Daniel Swain, a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University who closely studies the subject.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"There's no guarantee that it won't come back," Swain said of the ridge. "It's possible this is just a temporary break, but I'm cautiously optimistic we'll have more typical rainfall conditions for the rest of the winter."</div><div class="taglinejb" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 11.326px;
margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif !important; line-height: 22.652px !important; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Paul Rogers covers resources and environmental issues. Contact him at 408-920-5045. Follow him at <a href="http://Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN" style="color: rgb(82, 120, 174); text-decoration: none; -webkit-transition-property: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.1s; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease-out; -webkit-transition-delay: initial; ">Twitter.com/PaulRogersSJMN</a></div><div><br></div><span fd-type="end" fd-id="default"></span></div><div class="articlePositionFooter" style="text-align: left; border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; "></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',
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