atmospheric river

noun atmospheric rivers

1. A narrow and long band of atmospheric moisture that transports a lot of water vapour, originating from the tropics, in a manner superficially similar to how a terrestrial river transports water. A sequence of atmospheric rivers will bring heavy rainfall and snow to the Western U.S. and Canada over the next week. […] This early in the forecast, meteorologists are certain that the weather pattern is set up for a series of atmospheric river events — in some locations likely reaching a three or