2023年03月24日 VOA慢速英语：“大气河流”给加利福尼亚带来风暴

 

A rare tornado touched down near Los Angeles on Wednesday. It followed another major storm that hit the state of California on Tuesday.
周三，一场罕见的龙卷风袭击了洛杉矶附近。周二，另一场大风暴袭击了加利福尼亚州。
 
The violent weather brought heavy rain and snow from the Pacific Ocean. It caused floods, moved earth, uprooted trees, and forced thousands of Californians to leave their homes.
恶劣的天气带来了来自太平洋的大雨和大雪。它引发了洪水、移动了土地、连根拔起树木，并迫使成千上万的加利福尼亚人离开家园。
 
The National Weather Service said Tuesday's storm was a weather system connected to the 12th so-called atmospheric river since late December.
美国国家气象局表示，周二的风暴是与去年 12 月下旬以来第 12 条所谓的大气河流相关的天气系统。
 
Atmospheric rivers
大气河流
 
Atmospheric rivers are long and wide areas, like a river, of water vapor in the atmosphere that forms over an ocean.
大气河流是长而宽的区域，就像一条河流，在海洋上空形成的大气中的水蒸气。
 
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says these weather systems carry as much water vapor as the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
美国国家海洋和大气管理局表示，这些天气系统携带的水蒸气与密西西比河河口的平均水流量一样多。当大气河流登陆时，它们通常以雨或雪的形式释放这种水蒸气。
 
Atmospheric rivers come in many shapes and sizes. The largest of those can create strong winds and can cause extreme rainfall and floods. They can cause large amounts of damage to property and life.
大气河流有多种形状和大小。其中最大的会产生强风，并可能导致极端降雨和洪水。它们会对财产和生命造成大量损失。
 
But atmospheric rivers are an important part of the world's water cycle. In the western part of the United States, they bring snow to the Sierra Mountains in the winter. The snow then melts and releases water in the spring and summer for power, farming, and drinking water for millions of people.
但大气河流是世界水循环的重要组成部分。在美国西部，他们在冬天将雪带到塞拉山脉。然后雪在春季和夏季融化并释放水，为数百万人提供电力、农业和饮用水。
 
Storm effects on California
风暴对加利福尼亚的影响
 
The Tuesday storm arrived on the second official day of spring.
周二的风暴在春季的第二个官方日到来。
 
The National Weather Service office in the San Francisco area wrote, "Wow. Even by the standards of what has turned out to be one of our most extraordinary winter seasons in a very long time, yesterday ... stands out."
位于旧金山地区的国家气象局办公室写道：“哇。即使按照很长一段时间以来我们最不寻常的冬季之一的标准，昨天……也很突出。”
 
In the San Francisco area, windows were blown out from two tall buildings in the city. A train carrying 55 passengers struck a downed tree and derailed near the village of Porta Costa.
在旧金山地区，市内两座高楼的窗户被炸飞。一列载有 55 名乘客的火车在 Porta Costa 村附近撞上一棵倒下的树并出轨。
 
Parts of California had winds of 97 to 113 kilometers per hour. Officials confirmed five deaths related to the storm when trees fell onto their vehicles and a tent.
加州部分地区的风速为每小时 97 至 113 公里。官员们证实，当树木倒在他们的车辆和帐篷上时，有 5 人死于这场风暴。
 
California Office of Emergency Services said more than 14,000 people statewide were under orders to find higher ground because of flooding. Evacuation warnings were issued for another 47,000 Californians.
加州紧急服务办公室表示，由于洪水，全州有超过 14,000 人奉命寻找地势较高的地方。向另外 47,000 名加利福尼亚人发出了疏散警告。
 
PowerOutage.us found nearly 250,000 homes and businesses were without electricity statewide.
PowerOutage.us 发现全州有近 250,000 户家庭和企业断电。
 
The repeated Pacific storms during the past three months, however, have brought much-needed snow and water to California after years of dry weather and wildfires.
然而，在经历了多年的干旱天气和野火之后，过去三个月反复出现的太平洋风暴为加利福尼亚带来了急需的雪和水。
 
The state's Department of Water Resources says California has now received 147 percent of average rainfall so far this season.
该州水资源部表示，本季到目前为止，加州的降雨量已经达到平均降雨量的 147%。