Scientists create model of monster 'Frankenstorm'

(AP) — Think the recent wild weather that hammered California was bad? Experts are imagining worse.

As torrential rains pelted wildfire-stripped hillsides and flooded highways, a team of scientists hunkered down at the California Institute of Technology. They're working on a "Frankenstorm" scenario — a motherlode wintry blast that could potentially sock the Golden State.

In the scenario, the storm system forms in the Pacific and slams into the West Coast with hurricane-force winds, hitting Southern California the hardest. After more than a week of ferocious weather, the system stalls for a few days. Another storm brews offshore and this time pummels Northern California.

Such a monster storm could unleash as much as 8 feet of rain over three weeks in some areas.