Your commute this morning may have been significantly longer whether you walked or drove.
Sophomore journalism student Paulena Edelman’s commute to school this morning took double what it usually takes her.
Paulena Edelman: It was terrible. It was like, I’m a fast walker, so usually it takes me 20 minutes and then took me 40 because I there was really deep puddles and I live near row and there was this one. Or if I put my foot in it and I’m sure it’s I wear platforms to get those couple extra inches, but I swear the water would have gone up to like at least my ankle.
Edelman wishes that she could’ve just stayed home.
Edelman: USC should seriously consider doing zoom classes when it’s raining because LA and the campus is not built fo r rain, and it floods when it’s probably not even that much rain.
And if you drove this morning, you may have been blocked by a highway closure from all of the flooding.
April Elliott is a California Highway Patrol Officer.
April Elliott: With inclement weather, we do get a lot of calls. You can expect delays in traffic on your commute times and everything.
Officer Elliott shares some advice.
Elliott: So, it’s really important if you are driving on the freeways, to try to stay out of those first, that the far-left lane in the far-right lane. Those are the lanes that often flood near the roadway edges, especially on an elevated roadway with walls on both sides.
So, let’s get down to the details. What really is this atmospheric river or more specifically the pineapple express?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website says atmospheric rivers are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapor outside the tropics. When these rivers make landfall, they often will release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
The name Pineapple Express more specifically refers to an atmospheric river that is capable of bringing moisture from the tropics near Hawaii over to the U.S. West Coast.
Due to the expected rain continuing into the weekend, Officer Elliot shares more tips for anyone riding the Pineapple Express.
Elliott: If you know you do have to drive, just make sure you plan to leave with enough time to get to your destination, maybe even a little bit earlier. Allow for extra time. Never drive through standing water because we don’t again, we don’t know how deep that is. And something may be underneath that water. I like to make sure all my everything is in working order as far as my car. So, make sure you have a full tank of gas, make sure your windshield wipers are working, and that’s that’d be especially helpful this weekend.
The storm is expected to continue into early next week.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Pickle Coleman.