A steady stream of atmospheric rivers has slammed the West Coast since the start of December, killing at least four people half a dozen people and triggering floods from California to Washington state.
Sometimes called “rivers in the sky,” atmospheric rivers are among the West Coast’s most destructive weather events, causing an average of $1 billion in damages each year.
They’re often difficult to predict too, especially more than one week in advance. But a new global research effort aims to sharpen the forecasts for these life-threatening events — and scientists say it could improve weather predictions of all kinds across the Northern Hemisphere.
The Atmospheric River Reconnaissance Program — a research collaboration between NOAA and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego — plan to launch a series of international campaigns in January aimed at observing these powerful weather events around the world. The projects will run research flights out of Canada and Ireland this winter, as well as U.S. operations in Hawaii and California.
