![The massive Northern California flood in early January 1997, forced a break in the west levee of the Sutter Bypass near McClatchy Rd. inundating much of Reclamation District No. 1660 and District 70, within Sutter County.](/-/media/DWR-Images/Flood/DBK_Sutter_Bypass_Break_9443-3_01_05_1997.jpg?mw=200&hash=B93C19F121715956EEDF83472380B061)
California is no stranger to devastating floods. With the most variable weather conditions in the country, the state receives between 40 and 60 percent of its precipitation from atmospheric rivers, a stream of water vapor created in the atmosphere by circulating air currents over the waters of the Pacific Ocean.