Tibetan Plateau heat linked to California record rainstorms

A new UCLA-led study identifies a previously unknown climate connection: abnormally high early-winter temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau can trigger catastrophic rainstorms in California. The mechanism, which likely involves atmospheric wave patterns, may explain the record rains of 2016-2017 and 2022-2023, which caused billions in damage and deaths. The finding is based on modeling and observational analysis, but the exact causal chain and predictive utility remain uncertain.