This shot was captured less than an hour ago of another big Pacific storm approaching California. The impending rain is good news for the drought-stricken state, but may also cause dangerous flooding.
"Californians haven't seen rain and wind this powerful in 3 years," climatologist Bill Patzert of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a press release.
All the recent rain pummeling California won't come close to ending the drought, but every bit is helpful as some cities contemplate running completely out of water within months. More important is the snow that these storms are bringing to the Sierra Nevada, as the state is highly dependent on runoff from melting snowpack in the spring.
Though rain is needed, this storm may also bring problems. The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Los Angeles area. Areas that were burned by fires this year or last year are particularly vulnerable to debris flows and flash flooding.
"Right now from northern to southern California we are being battered by very heavy rain, strong winds and our coastal communities are being battered by high surf," Patzert said. "Through the weekend we are bracing for mud and rock slides in areas that recently burned [from wildfires]. Flooding is looming up and down the state."
And the rest of the country will have a chance to get in on the action as well. "By early next week, as this system moves east, this powerful system will wreak havoc causing snow and ice storms through the Midwest into the Northeast," Patzert said.
