Since precipitation generally moves west to east, it’s difficult to get close enough to storms that are coming from the Pacific. The Bay Area has particular weather forecasting challenges. “AQPI can really direct down to almost the neighborhood what the impact of the storm will be.” “With climate change and sea level rise, a lot of the impacts are going to be felt on our interior highways around bridges,” said John Coleman, CEO of the Bay Planning Coalition, an organization that represents the economic interests of governments and businesses in the region. And that’s where the devil’s in the details.” “The question is exactly where is it going to hit and how intense is it going to be. “We can actually see these atmospheric rivers coming many days in advance,” Cifelli said. The forecasting system, called Advanced Quantitative Precipitation Information, or AQPI, could reduce the annual cost of flood damage in the Bay Area by $60 million, said Robert Cifelli, research meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and AQPI technical lead. More accurate forecasts could help water managers strategize reservoir storage to better prepare for drought, and the higher-resolution images could monitor heavy rain that might hit wildfire burn zones and cause mudslides.Ītmospheric rivers, huge airborne bands of water that travel thousands of miles across the Pacific to dump rain and snow as they hit land, are estimated to inflict $1.1 billion in damage annually in California, Oregon and Washington. The new tools also hold promise for mitigating effects of global warming besides atmospheric rivers. An additional radar station will also be installed in Santa Cruz. By 2024, five more will come to the Bay Area, including one in the East Bay by Thanksgiving.
Paid for in part with a $20 million grant from the California Department of Water Resources and implemented by local water districts, the $31 million system began rolling out in 2018 with the installation of a new weather radar station in Sonoma County, followed by one in San Jose.
The new forecasting system was originally geared to give emergency planners more time to prepare before a sewage plant overflowed or a BART station flooded during an atmospheric river, the often-dramatic weather events responsible for up to half of the region’s rainfall. Provided by Valley Water Show More Show Less 2 of2 Show More Show LessĪ new radar system coming to the Bay Area promises to greatly improve weather predictions, providing additional warning time to prevent flooding damage and more accurate forecasts of where heavy rainfall will hit, down to a specific low-lying highway or neighborhood. This X-band radar station was installed in San Jose in 2019 as part of a new weather forecasting system being rolled out in the Bay Area.