Hurricane forecasted in California as winter storm leaves thousands without power

Destructive ‘Pineapple Express’ leaves 37 million residents at risk from floods with a month’s worth of rain set to hit over next two days

A fierce winter storm is battering California, leaving hundreds of thousands without power and prompting a rare warning of hurricane-force winds.
Around 37 million residents, about 94 per cent of the state’s population, are at risk from floods caused by the storm, which started on Sunday and is expected to last until Tuesday.
It is the second heavy storm to hit the state in recent days as part of the destructive “Pineapple Express” weather system. But forecasters say this one is more severe with the National Weather Service issuing a hurricane-force wind warning − with gusts of up to 92 mph − and predicting “one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory”.
San Francisco officials sent out alerts on Sunday about flooded and blocked roads, fallen trees − including a large one that brought down power lines − and a landslide. The final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament was postponed on Sunday.
Forecasters also suggested that California could see up to a month’s worth of rain in a couple days with rates peaking in some areas at an inch per hour.
The storm headed south on Monday with Los Angeles among eight Southern California counties where Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. “California: this is a serious storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts,” said Mr Newsom in a statement.
Meteorologists say the storm is the result of an “atmospheric river” effect, which is caused by airborne currents of dense moisture. Atmospheric rivers are a phenomenon in which water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land.
This system is known as a “Pineapple Express” because it brings warm subtropical moisture across the Pacific from near Hawaii.