‘Pineapple Express’ batters West Coast

The first of two powerful storms dubbed “Pineapple Express” was washing out roads and sparking flood warnings in the United States’ West Coast on Thursday.

An atmospheric river was dumping heavy rain and snow over a wide swath of the region, ferrying tropical moisture from the ocean near Hawaii — a weather phenomenon named after the tropical fruit that grows on the islands.

Northern California was walloped on Wednesday, leaving streets in San Francisco flooded after as much as an inch of rain fell in an hour.

By Thursday morning, it was Southern California’s turn, with Los Angeles and surrounding areas getting hit.

Footage showed major roads in the city completely inundated, while a miles-long stretch of the picturesque Pacific Coast Highway was shut.

The National Weather Service said “the largest storm of the season” would likely begin on Sunday.

“While the exact timing, rates and amounts are still uncertain, it is very likely that this will be a serious two- to three-day storm system,” the NWS said.

“Early estimates call for widespread rain amounts of two to four inches for lower elevations and likely twice those amounts in the south facing mountains.”

That could cause severe problems, including landslides and flooding throughout the area.

WITH AFP