Construction crews work at the scene where a section of Highway 1 collapsed into the Pacific Ocean near Big Sur, California on Jan. 31, 2021. Credit: Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images Flooding rains and record snow in California last week marked another extreme swing of the state’s climate pendulum. The widespread downpours triggered mudslides that damaged homes and roads near some of the huge fire scars from last summer, and also brought some of the water the state will need to end a months-long hot and dry streak and douse a record-setting wildfire season that extended into January. The storm included a long stream of moisture from the subtropical Pacific Ocean, called an atmospheric river , that inundated the state from north to south for three days. Atmospheric rivers are concentrated streams of moist air, generally more than 1,200 miles long, up to 620 miles wide and about 1.8 […]