Megastorm' could hit area as hard as a 'quake

Megastorm' could hit area as hard as a 'quake
USGS 'multi-hazards' expert warns of probable repeat of huge storms of history, only perhaps more frequent

by Jay Thorwaldson
Palo Alto Online Staff

Share
An unimaginably big "megastorm" could hit the Bay Area and California as hard or harder than an earthquake, a researcher with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) warned Thursday in Menlo Park.

Dale A. Cox heads in interdisciplinary scientific team investigating anything on Earth that can go wrong -- sometimes very wrong.

Speaking at noon to USGS colleagues and staff and to the public Thursday evening, Cox outlined the possibilities and impacts of what he calls an ARkStorm. The term is a play on "Noah's Ark" based on the initials AR. Those stand for a relatively new meteorological term: an "atmospheric river," meaning dense moisture-laden storms.

He said such megastorms seem to occur every 200 years or so and involve literally weeks of torrential rains often accompanied by hurricane-force winds of up to 125 miles per hour. see link.

I also wondered if the E. coast would get more Hurricanes this season due to warmer oceans in that area.link

Fascinating read!

Thanks for posting that link, Dona.

I had no idea such mega-storms can be expected, let alone that one of 'em wiped out one of the largest cities in California back in 1861.