https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atmospheric-river-snow-west/

BY JEFF BERARDELLI

JANUARY 24, 2021 / 6:56 AM / CBS NEWShttps://www.cbsnews.com/embed/video/?

In what has been the worst fire season in recorded history in California, withtwice the burned acreageof any season prior and fires burning months past the end of traditional wildfire season -some just days ago- fortune is about to shift, but to another extreme. A rip-roaring jet stream with embedded atmospheric rivers is primed to pummel California with heavy rain and massive snow over the coming week.

With the flip of a switch, California and the Southwest U.S., will go from the driest 6-month stretch in state history to the potential for flash flooding, landslides and snow so deep in the elevations, avalanches will become a danger.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1353012419203887105&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fnews%2Fatmospheric-river-snow-west%2F&siteScreenName=CBSNews&theme=light&widgetsVersion=ed20a2b%3A1601588405575&width=550px

Scientists say that patterns like this, which vacillate between extreme dry and extreme wet, are becoming the new normal, and will likely get worse, due in part…