This Helicopter Is Rescuing stranded 'Atmospheric River' Flood Victim

The California Highway Patrol swooped in to save a man from an island in the Salinas River after flood waters swept away his car. He was picked up and lowered into a nearby lot, shaken but uninjured. Authorities have been patrolling California’s swollen rivers and levies after an ‘atmospheric river’ storm dumped torrential rain on the region, knocking out roads and power, triggering rockslides and avalanches, and forcing thousands to evacuate Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow jets of water vapor high up in the sky. They can absorb 15 times the volume of the Mississippi river and stretch for more than 1600 km. They act as giant pipes, funneling water from the tropics to northern latitudes. When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they release moisture as rain or snow. Watch the video to learn more about atmospheric rivers.