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the Pinapple Express - Atmospheric Rivers - climate event CA


The western Canadian province declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after parts of the province were pummelled by a phenomenon known as an “atmospheric river”, dumping a month’s worth of rain in two days and causing floods and mudslides that swallowed bridges and stretches of highways, cut off entire towns and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.


Atmospheric Rivers


Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow bands of water vapour in the atmosphere that extend from the tropics to higher latitudes, acting like a pipe in the sky. These columns of vapour, typically between 250 and 375 miles wide, move with the weather and can transport up to 15 times the volume of the Mississippi River.


When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they release moisture in the form of rain or snow – and this is often a crucial contribution to water supplies. Precipitation from atmospheric rivers is thought to contribute about 20% of the Earth’s total water flow. In some regions, particularly the east and west coast of North America, south-east Asia and New Zealand, this can be more than 50%.


However, atmospheric rivers are also linked to dramatic weather events such as the torrential rain that has led to devastating flooding in southern British Columbia and north-western Washington state on Monday. This weather event was driven by an atmospheric river, known as “the Pineapple Express” that funnels warm water vapour from near Hawaii to the US west coast.


Further Reading & info w/c ty


Climate Change

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