Pineapple Express Storm Threatens California Chaos

Clear Facts

• A “Pineapple Express” atmospheric river weather system is set to hit California on Thursday, bringing heavy rain, mountain snow, high winds, and potential flooding.
• These weather systems can provide California with up to 50% of their required annual rainfall, but the state’s infrastructure struggles to manage the precipitation.
• The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued warnings and shared a precipitation map indicating the areas expected to be worst hit.

A “Pineapple Express” atmospheric river weather system is anticipated to slam into California on Thursday. This unusual weather system drags moisture from the tropical region around Hawaii and dumps it over the West Coast of the U.S., resulting in heavy rain for the once-drought-ridden state. Meteorologist Colin McCarthy explains, “Pineapple Expresses can be some of the strongest and warmest storms to hit California each winter.” He adds that “last winter, over 30 atmospheric rivers hit California, which ended the state’s severe drought and brought record snowfall.”

Californians are advised to prepare for the onslaught from this impending system, which is expected to bring mountain snow, high winds, and potentially serious flooding issues. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a series of tweets regarding the system, including one that showed the “massive Pacific storm” that could reach as far inland as Idaho. A precipitation map shared by NWS suggests coastal California, up through the north, and inland to almost the Nevada border will be worst hit on Wednesday night through Thursday.

These weather systems can provide California with up to 50% of their required annual rainfall, according to McCarthy. However, the infrastructure within the Golden State isn’t designed to manage the precipitation.

Clear Thoughts (op-ed)

The “Pineapple Express” is set to hit California, bringing much-needed rainfall to the state. However, this highlights a critical issue: California’s insufficient infrastructure to manage such precipitation.

These weather systems can deliver up to 50% of the state’s annual rainfall, yet the state has failed to invest in infrastructure to manage this water effectively. It’s a glaring example of government incompetence at the expense of the people.

California’s leaders have known about the potential for these weather events for years, but have chosen to focus on other issues instead. Instead of addressing the state’s water management problems, they’ve pursued costly and ineffective projects like high-speed rail.

This lack of foresight is a disservice to Californians who deserve better. It’s time for the state’s leaders to step up, address the infrastructure issue, and ensure that future weather events like the Pineapple Express can be managed effectively and efficiently.

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