California braces for back-to-back atmospheric river storms
By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California braced for a pair of approaching Pacific storms expected to drench much of the state in heavy rains that could trigger widespread flooding while also helping bolster longer-term fresh water supplies. The first of the back-to-back storms, both products of vast airborne currents of dense moisture called atmospheric rivers, was expected to hit Northern California on Wednesday and sweep over the Southern California coast on Thursday. The two systems also fit the definition of a “Pineapple Express,” Pacific storms originating from the warm, subtropical waters around the Hawaiian islands, according to Daniel