It’s been a fairly dry winter so far in California. One group who could really use some rain is a team of scientists trying to unlock the secrets of how storms work. What they find out has critical implications for people living in flood-prone areas like Sacramento, where information is the best defense. A new network of high-tech weather sensors is making the streams, tributaries and dams of the American River the country's most closely-monitored water system.
You may listen the "Watching for Floods on the American River" Radio report online.
Amy Standen is a Reporter for QUEST and Radio News at KQED-FM.