'Atmospheric river' sweeps in behind bomb cyclone as heavy rains batter California, Arizona

As if last week's bomb cyclone wasn't enough, an "atmospheric river" began its assault Wednesday on parts of California and Arizona as the late-arriving wet season continued to pound the drought-plagued region with a barrage of water. Northern and Central California were still in recovery mode from a series of intense storms that began more than a week ago as a bomb cyclone. The storms also dumped 9 inches of rain on parts of Arizona as they triggered weather headaches across the nation. Now a river in the sky is unleashing heavy rain and high-country snow over Southern California and Arizona through the weekend, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Paul Walker said. "We've had a dip in the jet stream, and it is funneling more moisture than usual across the Pacific and onto the West Coast," Walker told USA TODAY. "These storms are very focused and some places will get multiple inches of rain while others remain dry."...MORE