1

Dylan Tran
Dr. Rhea Presiado
Geography 1
16 September 2017

Atmospheric Hazard: Rainfall

Rainfall: Los Angeles, CA (Local State)

Caption:
During February of 2017, Southern California, Los Angeles has been affected by heavy
rainfall. Heavy rainfall can lead to numerous hazards, for instance; flooding, damage to building,
and crops. Another affect that will threaten human life is landslides, it will damage roads and
disrupt transportation. Due to the flood, many cars broken down in the middle of the street, all
over Los Angeles. The water level of the damage reaches over the limit so it over the dam
causing houses nearby, crops, and building damaged. On February 17-18 Nearly 9 inches of
rain was dropped onto the mountains just north of Santa Barbara, while in downtown Los
Angeles rainfall totals came up just short of their daily rainfall record The prescription above,
show that the rainfall occurred earlier this year, has raised up to almost the neutral level 200-
400.
 2

Rainfall: California, U.S.A.

Caption:
With many rainfall occurred on February in California, especially Northern California
(The Bay Area), it is safe to say that we are close to be out of drought. Whether the drought is
in its death throes also depends on what you look at. In terms of surface water, most of
California is no longer in drought, UC Davis water expert Jay Lund said Wednesday in a blog
post. The map above show that the Bay Area rainfall report reaches 600-1000, and 1000-1500
for those cities near the beaches. If there are more heavy rainfall coming near in the future, big
city like San Francisco could face a major flood from rising sea level. Every local county will
expect to deal with inundation by 2100, according to Union of Concerned Scientists. Many Bay
Area cities are taking action early by building seawalls to prevent sea level rise. Therefore,
Northern California would face more damage than Southern California if heavy rainfall
continues to come.
 3

Rainfall: United State, Global view

Caption:
Rainfall pattern in this map seems to be neutral to high level from middle east to east
coast. States like Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, etc. has high rainfall level from 1000-1500. This
happened because the states are surrounded by water, therefore, lead to a very moist climate.
State like Florida rains a lot throughout summer because of the heat evaporated sea water, and
therefore, rainfall happened. Middle East seems to have a neutral rainfall level compared to
West Coast and East Coast. The West Coast level is about 200-400 which mean there are very
little rain occur throughout the year. On the other hand, East Coast rainfall occurred quite often
throughout the year which often have flood in the area. Area with little rain would be affected,
for instance, it will hard for farmer to crop because there is so little rain.
 4

Work Cited

NatGeo Mapmaker Interactive. NatGeo Mapmaker Interactive,

mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.
http://mapmaker.nationalgeographic.org/

Alexander, Kurtis. Scientists expect floods in Bay Area from rising seas in coming decades. San
Francisco Chronicle, 13 July 2017, www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Scientists-expect-
floods-in-Bay-Area-from-rising-11284750.php. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Boxall, Bettina. Is the great California drought finally ending? Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles
Times, 12 Jan. 2017, www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-storms-drought-20170111-
story.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Dangerous Flooding, Landslides and Damaging Winds Impacted California. The Weather
Channel, weather.com/forecast/regional/news/california-record-wet-water-year-forecast-
feb2017. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Duginski, Paul. What's behind Southern California's summer rain and thunderstorms? Los
Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2017, www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-
monsoon-20170803-htmlstory.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Extreme weather - heavy rainfall. NIWA, 18 May 2016, www.niwa.co.nz/natural-

hazards/extreme-weather-heavy-rainfall. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.

Kwong, Jessica, and Scott Schwebke. Recent rain gives glimmer of hope that drought could
come to an end in California. Orange County Register, Orange County Register, 9 Apr. 2017,
www.ocregister.com/2017/01/13/recent-rain-gives-glimmer-of-hope-that-drought-could-
come-to-an-end-in-california/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2017.