atmospheric river
Airborne moisture corridor
An atmospheric river is a long, narrow corridor of water vapor in the atmosphere that transports moisture from tropical regions toward higher latitudes.
These flows can be thousands of miles long but only a few hundred miles wide, delivering heavy precipitation when they make landfall: The atmospheric river brought record rainfall to California.
The term emerged in climate science in the 1990s and has become standard in weather forecasting, particularly along the Pacific coast of North America.
Water falling from clouds
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- downpourIntense precipitation event
- cloudburstSudden heavy localized rainfall
- torrential rainExtremely heavy precipitation
Accumulated mountain winter layers
- water supplyProvisioned H2O delivery system
- Sierra NevadaWestern U.S. mountain range
- water storageHolding liquid reserves
- soil moistureWater in ground
Overwhelming surge of water
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- levee breachBroken flood control structure
- overflowExceed capacity and spill
- mudslideFlowing mass of wet soil
debris flow · waterlogging · evacuation · sandbagging · floodplain · watershed · drainage · runoff
High-altitude wind current
- landfallingReaching land from sea
- filamentVery thin thread
- extratropicalOutside tropical zones
- cyclonicRotating storm-like
frontal system · saturation · condensation · weather patterns · low-pressure system · storm track
Increase in degree
- severityIntensity of sternness
- climate modelingSimulating long-term atmospheric behavior
- climate adaptationAdjusting to environmental shifts
rainfall
Water falling from clouds
- delugeSevere overflow of water
- downpourIntense precipitation event
- cloudburstSudden heavy localized rainfall
torrential rain · rain bands · accumulation · rain gauge · water cycle
snowpack
Accumulated mountain winter layers
- water supplyProvisioned H2O delivery system
- Sierra NevadaWestern U.S. mountain range
- water storageHolding liquid reserves
inundation
Overwhelming surge of water
- flash floodRapid overflow from storms
- levee breachBroken flood control structure
- overflowExceed capacity and spill
mudslide · debris flow · waterlogging · evacuation · sandbagging · floodplain · watershed · drainage · runoff · flood stage
jet stream
High-altitude wind current
- landfallingReaching land from sea
- filamentVery thin thread
- extratropicalOutside tropical zones
cyclonic · frontal system · saturation · condensation · weather patterns · low-pressure system · storm track
intensification
Increase in degree
- severityIntensity of sternness
- climate modelingSimulating long-term atmospheric behavior
- climate adaptationAdjusting to environmental shifts
- weatherweather, rain, sun, snow, wind
- floodsflood damage, flood warning, deluge, flood warnings, flash floods
- severe weatherblizzard, hurricane, cyclone, hailstorm, ice storm
- stormsstorm, thunderstorm, hurricane, tornado, typhoon
- California weatherSanta Ana winds, June gloom, marine layer, Mediterranean climate, dry summers
- water hazardsflash flood, coastal flooding, flooding, tsunami, overflow
atmospheric riverdrought
Prolonged water scarcity
dry spell · water shortage · heat dome · rain shadow · desiccation
atmospheric, river, atmosphere, atmospherically, rivers, rivered, riverine, riverbank, riverside