Details:

Journal Title:
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Personal Author:
White, Allen B. ; Moore, Benjamin J. ; Gottas, Daniel J. ; Neiman, Paul J.
White, Allen B. ; Moore, Benjamin J. ; Gottas, Daniel J. ; Neiman, Paul J. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; ESRL (Earth System Research Laboratory) ; PSL (Physical Sciences Laboratory)
CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) ; ESRL (Earth System Research Laboratory) ; PSL (Physical Sciences Laboratory) Less -
Description:
During winter 2016/17, California experienced numerous heavy precipitation events linked to land-falling atmospheric rivers (ARs) that filled reservoirs and ended a severe, multiyear drought. These events also caused floods, mudslides, and debris flows, resulting in major socioeconomic disruptions. During 2–11 February 2017, persistent heavy precipitation in the northern Sierra Nevada culminated in a rapid increase in the water level on Lake Oroville, necessitating the activation of an emergency spillway for the first time since the Oroville Dam was installed and forcing the evacuation of 188,000 people. The precipitation, which mostly fell as rain due to elevated freezing levels, was focused on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in connection with orographic forcing linked to two successive ARs. Heavy rain fell on saturated soils and a snowpack produced by antecedent storms and thereby resulted in excessive runoff into Lake Oroville that led to a damaged spillway and complicated reservoir operations.
Keywords:
[+]
Runoff
Winter Storms

Source:
Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. (2019) 100 (1): 55–70.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0091.1
Document Type:
Journal Article
Place as Subject:
California
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Submitted
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:aeec295a3ddb45cc9408e11fd052554da08cc6a144ef66da23147cc1cf4386fe
File Type:

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