The geologic record proves that there have been years when megastorms have hammered California so badly that large portions of the state were left underwater for months. This can happen when multiple atmospheric rivers funnel vast amounts of moisture into the state in rapid succession. This is significantly more likely to occur during an El Niño, and current forecasts indicate that there is an 83 percent chance that the El Niño of 2026-2027 will be the most powerful ever recorded. USA Today just published an article entitled “Disaster ‘larger than any in world history’ could hit California”, and the premise of that article is correct. It is entirely possible that in the months ahead a series of atmospheric rivers could cause cataclysmic flooding that is unlike anything we have ever seen before.
Scientists have warned that if an ARkStorm hits California, overwhelmed levees and drainage systems could flood approximately 25 percent of all California buildings and submerge major urban and agricultural centers.
That sort of flooding could trigger thousands of highly destructive landslides, and it is entirely possible that some areas could find themselves completely isolated for weeks.
Economic models have estimated that the total amount of economic damage could reach a trillion dollars.
If you have never heard of an ARkStorm, the following is a pretty good explanation from Newsweek…
ARkStorm, short for Atmospheric River 1,000, is a hypothetical scenario developed to examine the impact of an exceptionally severe series of atmospheric river storms in California.
The scenario was developed by experts from federal and state agencies, universities and research institutions, including NOAA, the U.S Geological Survey (USGS), Scripps Institution of Oceanography and FEMA. Their aim was to create a scientifically plausible hypothetical storm scenario to help emergency services, resource managers and the public understand the potential scale and consequences of an extreme flooding event.
The scenario uses evidence from historical storms, including the Great Flood of 1861-62. During that event, California experienced approximately 45 days of repeated storms, leaving large areas of the Central Valley underwater.
The Great Flood of 1861-1862 was caused by an ARkStorm.
It was the worst flooding in the recorded history of the state, and it left vast stretches of California underwater for an extended period of time.
If a similar ARkStorm hit the state today, we are being told that the size of the economic disaster would be “larger than any in world history”…
The winter of 1861-62 featured the worst flood in California’s history, as weeks of heavy rain left huge swaths of the state underwater. If such an event happened today, it is estimated that it would be a $1 trillion disaster, “larger than any in world history,” according to a statement from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Specifically, intense rainstorms pummeled central California “virtually unabated” from Christmas Eve 1861 until January 1862, Scientific American chronicled in a 2013 story on “The Coming Megastorms.”
This wasn’t anything like a normal flood.
That ARkStorm actually created “a huge inland sea … a region at least 300 miles long”…
The flow of water also created “a huge inland sea … a region at least 300 miles long,” leaving Central and Southern California underwater for up to six months, Scientific American said. Floodwaters stretched as wide as 60 miles across, the UCLA researchers wrote.
“Thousands of farms are entirely under water – cattle starving and drowning,” scientist William Brewer, author of “Up and Down California in 1860-1864,” wrote in a letter to his brother that Scientific American cited. “All the roads in the middle of the state are impassable; so all mails are cut off. The telegraph also does not work clear through. In the Sacramento Valley for some distance the tops of the poles are under water.”
For a moment, I would like for you to imagine portions of Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno and Los Angeles being underwater for months.
That sounds cataclysmic, but the ARkStorm of 1861-1862 wasn’t a worst case scenario.
In fact, the geologic record proves that there have been “6 megastorms more severe than 1861-1862 in California in the last 1800 years”…
Such storms have happened in California’s historic record (1861-62), but 1861-62 is not a freak event, not the last time the state will experience such a severe storm, and not the worst case. The geologic record shows 6 megastorms more severe than 1861-1862 in California in the last 1800 years, and there is no reason to believe similar events won’t occur again.
The USGS says that this sort of thing has happened many times before, and they are warning that it is “perhaps inevitable” that it will happen again…
“An ARkStorm is plausible, perhaps inevitable,” the USGS stated. “The geologic record shows six megastorms more severe than 1861-1862 in California in the last 1800 years, and there is no reason to believe similar events won’t occur again.”
Less than half a million people lived in the entire state during the ARkStorm of 1861-1862.
Today, nearly 40 million people live in California, and much of the population is concentrated near the coast.
The total value of California real estate is well above the 10 trillion dollar mark.
So what would the total economic damage be if 25 percent of the buildings in the state experienced at least some flooding?…
25% of buildings in the state could experience some degree of flooding in a single severe storm. Only perhaps 12% of California property is insured, so millions of building owners may have limited or no ability to pay for repairs. That degree of damage would threaten California with a long-term reduction in economic activity, and raise insurance rates statewide – perhaps nationwide or more – afterwards.
The quote above is not from some random guy on the Internet.
The quote above is from the USGS.
During an El Niño, the overall strength and moisture content of atmospheric rivers that affect California tend to be greater.
This winter, we have a Super El Niño to contend with.
In fact, it appears that it will be the strongest Super El Niño that has ever been recorded.
So let’s watch and see what happens.
We are being told that the “strength, location and duration” of the atmospheric rivers that develop this winter will determine whether California experiences an ARkStorm or not…
The rivers in the sky hold the key.
The strength, location and duration of atmospheric rivers – ribbons of water vapor that extend thousands of miles from the tropics to the western United States – will be the deciding factor in how much rain and snow falls in California this winter, and whether a disastrous “ARkStorm” flood could conceivably occur, experts told USA TODAY.
“Atmospheric rivers are the wild card for this winter,” Scripps Institution of Oceanography research meteorologist Marty Ralph told USA TODAY. “If we get atmospheric rivers back to back, that sets the stage for potential flooding.”
This is a very real threat.
One climate scientist that was quoted by Newsweek says that he is quite concerned about the winter that is ahead…
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, expressed concern about the months ahead.
“I am concerned about this winter,” Swain told USA Today. “Due to the very strong El Niño, the risk of a severe ARkStorm-like flood resulting from weeks of heavy precipitation is more likely in a year like this one.”
Over the last several months, a large number of hurricanes developed in the eastern Pacific, but none of them made landfall on the west coast.
But an ARkStorm would be far more destructive than a hurricane.
Atmospheric rivers are most likely to affect California between September and March, with peak activity concentrated in the winter months of December, January and February.
We have officially entered the danger zone, and the Super El Niño of 2026-2027 just continues to get even stronger.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
