atmospheric river

noun

plural atmospheric rivers

: a concentrated band of water vapor that flows through the atmosphere and that is a significant part of the global hydrologic cycle and an important source of regional precipitation

Environment Canada is working on a new system to rank atmospheric rivers, a type of weather system that damaged highways, flooded farms and homes, and left at least four people dead in southern B.C. earlier this week.

—Wendy Stueck

Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. These columns of vapor move with the weather, carrying an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.

—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

In a typical year, significant atmospheric river storms occur about 10 to 15 times in California. Ultimately, they account for up to 50% of the state's precipitation.

—Paul Rogers

Examples of atmospheric river in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As another atmospheric river approaches Northern California, local agencies have begun conducting releases from spillways to make room for more water. —Kayla Moeller, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026

Widespread showers across the Bay Area on Wednesday are expected to taper off Thursday before light rain Friday morning heralds the arrival of an atmospheric river Friday afternoon. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025

In 2023, the statewide snowpack ended at 237% of normal after record-breaking atmospheric rivers soaked the Sierra. —Chaewon Chung, Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025

In recent weeks, powerful atmospheric river storms have swept across Washington, Oregon and California, unloading enormous amounts of rain. —Farshid Vahedifard, The Conversation, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for atmospheric river

• caregiver
• deliver
• downriver
• lawgiver
• upriver
• giver
• liver
• livre
• quiver
• shiver
• sliver