Videos Show Driest Place in North America Flooded Before Atmospheric River

Videos shared on social media show the impressive impact recent atmospheric rivers have had on the driest place in North America, and a weather expert told Newsweek what to expect with another storm on the way.

California has faced a slew of atmospheric rivers this winter that have caused devastating floods and landslides. Death Valley National Park has experienced above-average rainfall since December, which has contributed to the formation of a temporary lake called Lake Manly in the California desert, which is along the Nevada border. Death Valley is the driest place in North America and the hottest place in the world.

Atmospheric rivers are 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.

Lake Manly first formed after Hurricane Hilary flooded the region last August, at which time videos of people kayaking through Death Valley abounded on social media. The lake prompted temporary closures at the national park, which reopened in October. People again got the chance to kayak in the temporary lake after a series of atmospheric rivers have added to its water levels.

Social media user Patrick Donnelly shared a video of himself kayaking through the temporary lake on Monday morning.

“I’ve seen four natural phenomena in my life that shook me to my core & changed the way I think & dream. A full solar eclipse, a true Mojave Desert superbloom like 2016, monarch winter roosting in Mexico, & now this… boating on ephemeral Lake Manly on the floor of Death Valley,” Donnelly shared with the video.

In a separate post, Donnelly urged others to visit the lake for themselves.

“If you are a Mojave Desert rat then I must urge you to run, not walk, to see Lake Manly,” he said, with a video that showed the lake’s water rippling. “Don’t worry about the crowds. I’ve been in this desert for 20 years & I didn’t go the past 3 times it’s formed, but I did this time. Nothing can prepare you for it. It’s unbelievable.”

The lake could see additional rainfall as another atmospheric river currently works its way through California.

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Clay Morgan told Newsweek that some of the higher elevations in Death Valley have already received 1.5 inches of rain since midnight. However, the rainfall isn’t expected to be as excessive as past storms.

“They’re not going to get a serious dumping on this one,” Morgan said.

According to AccuWeather, Death Valley has received 252 percent of its normal rainfall since December 1 at 2.42 inches.

“Although it doesn’t sound like much compared to how much rain Santa Barbara residents have received, nearly 2.5 inches of rain for desert locations with dry, dense surfaces can be rather impactful in terms of flooding and runoff. The historical average rainfall during this time frame for Death Valley is 0.96 of an inch,” AccuWeather said in a report.