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 storms brought by atmospheric rivers are known for their heavy snow, heavy rain and strong winds. —Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2025

All of it Friday was the result of the tail end to an atmospheric river that promised to soak the most northern parts of California and Oregon while leaving some leftovers for this region. —Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025

Some atmospheric rivers can stretch as far as 5,000 miles, all the way from Asia. —Doyle Rice, USA Today, 22 Oct. 2025

April showers may bring spring flowers, but record-breaking atmospheric rivers of rain bring dead flowers due to fungal diseases and root rot. —Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Sep. 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