atmospheric river

[at-muhs-fer-ik riv-er, -feer-]

noun

Meteorology.

1. a long, narrow corridor in the atmosphere that transports massive amounts of concentrated water vapor from the tropics: often responsible for extratropical cyclones and other extreme weather events, but also for commonly weaker systems of rain that replenish water supplies. AR

Word History and Origins

Origin of atmospheric river¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

California depends on just a few strong atmospheric river storms to provide moisture; as little as five to seven can end up being responsible for more than half of the year’s water supply, he said.

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The Sierra Nevada resort had initially announced a Nov. 14 opening date, but pushed it off as an atmospheric river storm swept across the state.

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At MOCA, about 300 Angelenos braved an atmospheric river to sit in the darkened former police car warehouse bathed in red light.

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This weekend’s atmospheric river uprooted trees, caked roads in mud and sent toxic runoff flowing into the ocean, but nowhere got quite as hard hit as Santa Barbara, which experienced the soggiest three-day stretch of November rain in the county’s recorded history.

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The most powerful band of a large atmospheric river storm slammed into Southern California on Saturday, dumping much-needed rain across the region but also bringing mudslide dangers.

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