"Atmospheric river poised to drench California"
Of course, this headline captures my attention! (Just as the editor hoped it would!) In the past, it would have been merely, "Heavy rain expected to drench California" or something to that effect! So is this just a new meteorologist phrase to capture our attention on the evening news! In the 60's, it was Harry Geise on KCRA Sacramento that my roommate would imitate as she looked out the window and predicted what the weather would be for the day so we could dress appropriately! Usually cloudy with a chance of rain since we were living in Portland at the time!! Presently, it's Mark Finan that gets so excited on KCRA3 when there is actually WEATHER to report!!
So again, what about this atmospheric river thing? Metaphorically, I think I must have one in my head to joggle me to post a blog which I haven't done for a very long time!!
I heard if for the first time last year when we were indeed FLOODED in my area with more rain in the future. That expression was posted on my phone alert for the weather.
The term was first coined by a couple of MIT researchers in the early '90's. They found scores of long, narrow, river-like air masses moving vast amounts of heat and moisture from the tropics into the mid-latitudes---”atmospheric rivers”!! This explains why some storms are wetter! DUH! ARs also have colloquial names, such as “Hawaiian fire hose,” or “Pineapple Express”. AR's supply us here in California with 30-50% of our rainful. However, lately, due to drought and fires, the extreme rainfall causes flooding and mudslides. These events can disrupt travel and cause catastrophic damage to life and property.  |
| "ATMOSPHERIC RIVER" |
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