Atmospheric River Could Suddenly Create New Lake in California

A new lake could suddenly appear in a California desert as an atmospheric river brings torrential rain to the region.

The first of two atmospheric rivers began moving through the state on Thursday. But meteorologists are more concerned about the second storm, which will make landfall on Sunday and continue for 72 hours in some areas. Preliminary forecasts are predicting concerningly high rainfall amounts, particularly in Southern California, and meteorologists are urging people to begin preparing.

The storm will stretch far enough inland that it could bring up to 1.5 inches of rain to Death Valley and suddenly create a temporary lake in the hottest place on Earth and the driest place in North America.

Atmospheric rivers are defined as a “long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. More than a dozen atmospheric rivers battered the state last year, largely eliminating drought but creating severe problems such as flooding and mudslides.

Death Valley, which is in eastern California near the Nevada state line, typically sees just .52 inches of rain in February and less than 2 inches of rain a year.

Forecasts are uncertain, given that the storm is still days away. But National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Morgan Stessman told Newsweek that even the lower-end precipitation forecast of .4 inches could be enough to form a new lake in Death Valley.

A similar lake formed in the desert after Hurricane Hilary brought a deluge of rain to California last August.

“[The lake] could reappear, although it probably wouldn’t be as deep as it was in Hilary,” Stessman said.

After Hilary flooded the region, videos of people kayaking through Death Valley abounded on social media. The lake prompted temporary closures at Death Valley National Park, which reopened in October.

Stessman said lighter precipitation could begin falling in Death Valley as early as Sunday morning and continue through Wednesday morning. The heaviest precipitation will fall on Monday and Tuesday.

The biggest concern with the storm is the precipitation amounts in the mountainous regions of the eastern Sierra Nevada, Stessman said.

“There’s potential that if the higher-end [precipitation forecasts] would verify, we would see quite a bit of snow over the course of three days,” Stessman said. “That’s one concern because it would make travel very difficult up in those areas.”

Higher rainfall amounts are predicted for places in Southern California, such as Los Angeles and Pasadena. The storm brings a high possibility of floods, given the atmospheric river that previously moved through the state on Thursday. That storm saturated the ground and water sources, making flooding more likely with the second storm arriving later this weekend.