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

The avalanche occurred amid a powerful atmospheric river storm that unleashed several feet of snow onto the Sierra Nevada mountains. —Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026

When an atmospheric river encounters high terrain, it is forced upward, cooling rapidly and releasing its moisture as snow — sometimes in staggering quantities over short time periods. —Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 20 Feb. 2026

Water officials said the state was at 89% of average following a series of atmospheric rivers that provided relief from a slow start. —Brandon Downs, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026

This graphic also shows the atmospheric river expected to move over parts of the extreme northwest. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026

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