California storms: When a year’s worth of rain in two weeks isn’t enough
As President Joe Biden heads to a sodden California Thursday, the state is trying to clean up after a series of storms dumped over a year’s worth of rainfall in under a month, causing at least 20 deaths and billions of dollars in damages.
One set of calculations estimates 25 trillion gallons of water fell across the state during the first two weeks of storms, which started Dec. 27. The series of atmospheric rivers – at least nine – that brought the deluge took forecasters by surprise, causing flood warnings for 90% of Californians and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.
The California Geological Survey has mapped almost 600 mudslides since the storms began – a result of heavy rain on top of loose, dry landscapes and burn scars throughout the fire-prone state. Despite the
