VOA科学技术2024--Damage atop Damage: ‘Atmospheric River’ Storms Strike California Again

Damage atop Damage: ‘Atmospheric¹ River’ Storms Strike California Again

　　In California, the second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers on Monday caused heavy rains and mudslides, flooded roadways and cut electric power.

　　Atmospheric rivers are long and wide areas, like a river, of water vapor² in the atmosphere that form over an ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says these weather systems carry as much water vapor as the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.

　　Much of California was still drying out from the atmospheric river that blew in last week. Over the weekend, officials ordered people living in parts of California that burned in recent wildfires to evacuate³. These areas are at high risk for wreckage⁴ flows.

　　About 1.4 million people living in the Los Angeles area, were under a flash flood warning Monday morning. Up to 23 centimeters of rain had already fallen in the area, with more expected, the National Weather Service predicts. It called the flash flooding and threat of mudslides, "a particularly dangerous situation."

　　Keki Mingus, from the Studio City area of Los Angeles, said that mud, rocks, and water came down through her neighborhood. Mingus said, "It looks like a river that's been here for years. I've never seen anything like it."

　　Storm affects entire California coast

　　The rains brought down trees and power lines Sunday in the San Francisco Bay Area. Winds in the northern area blew as fast as 95 kilometers an hour. In the mountains, they were even stronger with gusts⁶ reaching almost 130 kilometers an hour.

　　Palisades Tahoe is a skiing area about 320 kilometers northeast of San Francisco. The skiing area was expected to have the heaviest snowfall yet this season on Sunday, as much as 15 centimeters per hour for a total of up to 60 centimeters. Heavy snow is continuing into Monday throughout the Sierra Nevada and motorists were urged to avoid mountain roads.

　　Just to the south in San Jose, emergency crews rescued people from a car trapped by floodwaters. Other teams rescued people living beside a rising river.

　　For the Central Coast, the weather service issued a rare "hurricane force wind warning," with wind gusts of up to 148 kilometers an hour.

　　The storm then moved into Southern California, where officials warned of possible severe flooding. They ordered people to leave canyon⁷ areas where there were recent wildfires. Officials are concerned about the high risk of wreckage flows in those areas.

　　The latest atmospheric river storm is called a "Pineapple Express" because it stretches across the Pacific from almost as far as Hawaii.

　　"We've had flooding, we've had gusty⁸ winds, we've had the whole gamut⁹ here," said Todd Hall, a weather scientist with the National Weather Service near Los Angeles. Hall said he expects the heavy to moderate rain to continue in southern California until Tuesday.

　　California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency for most areas of the state. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services activated¹⁰ its operations center and deployed¹¹ workers and equipment in areas most at risk.

　　Words in This Story

　　gust⁵ – n. a sudden brief rush of wind

　　gamut – n. an entire range or series

　　plume¹² – n. something shaped like a feather

　　moisture – n. liquid diffused¹³ or condensed in relatively¹⁴ small quantity

　　surf – n. the swell¹⁵ of the sea that breaks upon the shore

　　hurricane – n. a tropical storm with winds of 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour or greater that is usually accompanied by rain, thunder, and lightning, and that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes

1 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

2 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

3 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

4 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

5 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

6 gusts   

一阵强风( gust的名词复数 )； （怒、笑等的）爆发； （感情的）迸发； 发作

参考例句：

• Her profuse skirt bosomed out with the gusts. 她的宽大的裙子被风吹得鼓鼓的。
• Turbulence is defined as a series of irregular gusts. 紊流定义为一组无规则的突风。

7 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

8 gusty   

adj.起大风的

参考例句：

• Weather forecasts predict more hot weather,gusty winds and lightning strikes.天气预报预测高温、大风和雷电天气将继续。
• Why was Candlestick Park so windy and gusty? 埃德尔斯蒂克公园里为什么会有那么多的强劲阵风？

9 gamut   

n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识

参考例句：

• The exhibition runs the whole gamut of artistic styles.这次展览包括了所有艺术风格的作品。
• This poem runs the gamut of emotions from despair to joy.这首诗展现了从绝望到喜悦的感情历程。

10 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

11 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

12 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

13 diffused   

散布的，普及的，扩散的

参考例句：

• A drop of milk diffused in the water. 一滴牛奶在水中扩散开来。
• Gases and liquids diffused. 气体和液体慢慢混合了。

14 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

15 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。