太平洋风暴接连来袭，给南加州和美国西南部带来大雨，预演即将到来的厄尔尼诺冬季。
Southern California and the US Southwest face heavy rain from Pacific storms rolling in, offering a preview of the coming El Niño winter.
国家气象局称，洛杉矶市中心预计从周三开始到周四将迎来多达1.5英寸的降雨。内陆地区和整个西南部预计降雨量更大，已发布洪水预警。
Downtown Los Angeles is forecast to get as much as 1.5 inches of rain starting Wednesday and continuing to Thursday, the National Weather Service said. Heavier totals are expected inland and across the Southwest, where flood watches have been posted.
降雨增加了河流和溪流决堤以及近年野火烧毁地区发生泥石流的风险。
The rain raises the risk of rivers and creeks overflowing their banks and mudslides in areas burned by wildfires in recent years.
美国天气预测中心高级分支预报员鲍勃·奥拉韦克说：“这将是一次不错的降雨过程。它可能预示着今冬将要发生的情况。”增强的太平洋厄尔尼诺现象通常会给美国南部从加州到佛罗里达州带来暴雨，这增加了金州发生洪水、泥石流和财产损失的风险。厄尔尼诺成为有1950年以来有记录最强事件的可能性依然很高，其影响将持续数月。
“It is going to be a good rainfall event,” said Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center said. “It may be a harbinger of what is coming this winter.”The strengthening Pacific El Niño typically pours heavy rain into the southern US from California to Florida, which raises the risks of flooding, mudslides and property damage across the Golden State. The chances remain high El Niño will be a historic event that would be the strongest in records dating back to 1950 and that its effects would linger for months.
奥拉韦克说，洪水威胁延伸至加州、亚利桑那州、新墨西哥州、犹他州和科罗拉多州，未来五天大雨预计将蔓延至美国中部。据美国风暴预测中心称，亚利桑那州部分地区（包括弗拉格斯塔夫）周三还面临2至3级强雷暴风险，带来破坏性大风、冰雹和龙卷风威胁。
The flood threat extends across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, while heavy rain is expected to spread into the central US over the next five days, Oravec said. Parts of Arizona, including Flagstaff, also face a Level 2 to 3 risk of severe thunderstorms Wednesday, bringing the threat of damaging winds, hail and tornadoes, according to the US Storm Prediction Center.