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Yongkang Xue, Professor of Geography and Atmospheric Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

How heat on the Tibetan Plateau fuels powerful storms in California, half a world away

Heavy rain from an atmospheric river sent the Los Angeles River, normally mostly empty, spilling over its sides in February 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Tibetan Plateau may be on the other side of the world from California, but what happens on this high-altitude landscape in Asia can set off a chain of events that fuels powerful atmospheric rivers with flooding rainfall and heavy snow hitting the U.S. West Coast.

My team of atmospheric scientists discovered this connection, and we explain how it works in a new study in the journal Science Advances.

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