Uploaded December 2023 | Updated September 2026, 7 hours ago
NOAA satellites are closely monitoring a strong atmospheric river that has been bringing excessive rainfall, flooding, and high elevation snow to the Pacific Northwest, a region already soaked by previous atmospheric rivers. Earlier this week, the National Weather Service issued flood alerts for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho for river and stream flooding, as well as Northern California for heavy rainfall and snowmelt.
Atmospheric rivers get their names from their long, narrow shape and the prodigious amount of water vapor they carry through the atmosphere–like a river in the sky. They form when winds over the Pacific draw up moisture from the band of warm, moist air over the tropics and channel it toward the West Coast of North America. Atmospheric rivers are the largest transport mechanisms for freshwater on Earth, and when they make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow over relatively short periods of time.
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
CIRA
Photos courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
Music: “Seven Sisters” by Clément Durand [SACEM]; Collection Ideale; Universal Production Music
NOAA satellites are closely monitoring a strong atmospheric river that has been bringing excessive rainfall, flooding, and high elevation snow to the Pacific Northwest, a region already soaked by previous atmospheric rivers. Earlier this week, the National Weather Service issued flood alerts for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho for river and stream flooding, as well as Northern California for heavy rainfall and snowmelt.
Atmospheric rivers get their names from their long, narrow shape and the prodigious amount of water vapor they carry through the atmosphere–like a river in the sky. They form when winds over the Pacific draw up moisture from the band of warm, moist air over the tropics and channel it toward the West Coast of North America. Atmospheric rivers are the largest transport mechanisms for freshwater on Earth, and when they make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow over relatively short periods of time.
Credits:
NOAA
NASA
CIRA
Photos courtesy of the Oregon Department of Transportation
Music: “Seven Sisters” by Clément Durand [SACEM]; Collection Ideale; Universal Production Music
