A Pacific weathermaker is streaming into the Southwest like a fire hose and it's wreaking havoc on the coast. It's not over yet.
This is an atmospheric river and it functions just like a river does, carrying water from one place to the next, only in the sky. These streams are made up of evaporated warm water from the tropics and they’re capable of dropping lots of rain and snow below.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, atmospheric rivers typically stretch 250 to 375 miles wide and can be more than 1,000 miles long. NASA projects that as the atmosphere warms in combination with warm water temperatures, they will become more intense and more frequent.
For this current system, southern Nevada is seeing a milder impact compared to the west coast where dangerous flooding and wind are causing a threat to life.
The question is, will we see a benefit from all this water?
According to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, almost all of the rain that falls over the next few days will be funneled into our wash system.
“Because of the infrastructure we have for flood control, we do see the vast majority of this stormwater get funneled into various washes that make their way out to Lake Mead," Bronson Mack, spokesperson for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said.
Ultimately, the water that falls in the form or rain doesn't do much for drought conditions. According to Mack, the rain falling from this atmospheric river only adds a small fraction - just hundreths of an inch or water - to Lake Mead.
“Anything we can add to Lake Mead is good, but let’s keep in mind that the amount of rain we get here isn’t enough to make a significant difference in Lake Mead’s elevation," Mack said.
Mack added that Rocky Mountain snow is really what's needed for drought improvements.
On a daily basis, around 200 million gallons of treated water runs through the Las Vegas washes, but rainfall pushes those water levels to rise even more. Because of this, it's important to stay away from washes as flash flooding could occur.
The current Pacific system will continue to bring heavy rain and snow to Nevada through mid-week.
