"Rising Threat: The Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Storms"

Climate change and a strong El Niño event are contributing to the intensity of impacts from atmospheric rivers hitting the West Coast, causing life-threatening flooding in Southern California. Research shows that climate change is making the impacts from naturally occurring events, like atmospheric rivers, more intense, with more extreme precipitation events expected in the future. The El Niño pattern currently in place is favoring multiple rounds of heavy rain and an overall period of unsettled, rainy weather, exacerbating the situation.