Blog: Flood watchers
Floods in California rarely attract the sort of attention that earthquakes, wildfires or even shark attacks do. Perhaps it has something to do with the severity of an unprecedented, years-long drought that is far from over. This winter’s deluge — particularly in the northern and central regions — was a jolting reminder that rainfall remains a deadly, destructive force to be reckoned with, though it has been many decades since the Golden State experienced truly catastrophic flooding. Climate scientists, however, note that higher temperatures due to global warming mean the air can hold more moisture, resulting in more of the atmospheric rivers that have brought heavy rain to the state. It’s only a matter of time, they warn, before a sufficiently massive storm arrives to add to California’s legacy of devastating floods.