Atmospheric river

The Weather Prediction Center issued a rare “high risk” prediction of excessive rain for parts of Southern California, saying eight inches could fall.Parts of Southwest California on Sunday braced for heavy rains — potentially as much as an inch an hour — that could lead to life-threatening floods and “one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory,” forecasters said.An intensifying coastal storm will strengthen an atmospheric river that will stream warm tropical moisture into California. Rare forecasts have been issued for life-threatening flooding, hurricane-force winds, waterspouts, tornadoes and heavy snowfall across California from Sunday into Monday.“This major storm will bring a multitude of dangerous weather conditions to the area,” the National Weather Service in Los Angeles said on Sunday morning.The Weather Prediction Center issued a rare “high risk” prediction of excessive rain in an area that includes Santa Barbara, Ventura and Oxnard, saying eight or more inches of rain could fall in a 24-hour period.Over the past decade, some of the deadliest and most destructive floods have occurred in areas that forecasters said were at this level of risk, which is a category they rarely use.About half the time a high risk is issued, there is at least one fatality or injury, and about two out of every three times, there is at least $1 million in damage, according to data from the Weather Prediction Center.

Possibility of excessive rain Sunday More