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

California Individuals and businesses in San Diego County have until June 17 to file and pay due to the spate of atmospheric river storms that hit the county starting in January. —James Powel, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024

Explore our new section In the last decade, California endured two severe droughts, and then the historic series of atmospheric rivers of 2023, which brought one of the biggest accumulations of snow on record and triggered damaging floods in parts of the state. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024

How climate change is fueling stronger atmospheric rivers 05:06 Such findings jibe with a growing body of research, along with ample anecdotal evidence, that underscores the vast scale of the problem for homeowners. —Alain Sherter, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024

The National Weather Service forecasts the state will again see heavy rain from winter storms after an atmospheric river earlier this month dumped as much as a foot of rain in metro Los Angeles. —Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 20 Feb. 2024

Regent’s Slide is the largest of several landslides in the Big Sur area that occurred as a result of last winter’s atmospheric rivers. —Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024

Climate change, which is increasing the frequency and intensity of atmospheric rivers, made Lake Manly possible. —Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024

These changes, in turn, can help boost the frequency, strength and persistence of atmospheric rivers, contributing to the kind of extreme precipitation California has been experiencing this winter — including right now. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024

Following an excessive amount of rain that caused multiple reports of flash flooding, mudslides, and landslides this week, the atmospheric river has finally moved out of the area. —USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1993, in the meaning defined above