The fate of California’s annual rainfall, snowpack, and reservoir levels depend heavily on atmospheric river events.
CALIFORNIA TORNADOES
Yes, California gets tornadoes! Whether waterspouts spin up along the coast, or legit supercells spawn twisters in the Central Valley, the golden state has a few hotspots for severe weather. In fact, for this reason, we named the Central Valley “Cali Alley”—California’s very own Tornado Alley.
A range of topography throughout the state yield opportunities for channeling and orographic lift. As a result, a few specific areas have greater potential for storm training and severe weather.
DOWNSLOPE WINDS
When the conditions are just right, downslope winds can bring wind speeds over 100 mph.
FIRES & FIRE TORNADOES
A season or two of significant rains, followed by years of drought, set the state up for some of the world’s most devastating fires. As if fires weren’t enough to worry about, some fires create pyrocumulonimbus clouds that form strong tornadoes.
ISLAND BANDS
When low pressure systems positions themselves just right, thin lines of showers and thunderstorms can form to the east and northeast of Southern California islands. When these occur, some coastal communities may receive several inches of rain in a narrow corridor while nearby neighborhoods get little to none.
MONSOON
The North American Monsoon, sometimes referred to as the Southwest Monsoon, is widely known for the thunderstorms it generates around Arizona when the “Four Corners High” [pressure] sets up in the Summer months. Moisturefrom Mexico, or thunderstorm outflow from Arizona, gets lifted by topography and convergence zones and form thunderstorms from the Southeast edge of the state, to the coast, and all the way up the Sierra Nevada to Northern California.
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