How to Use atmospheric river in a Sentence

atmospheric river

noun
  • For the past two years, atmospheric rivers — long plumes of water in the sky that sweep in from the tropics — have lashed the state with rain.
    Laura Paddison, CNN, 7 Sep. 2024
  • In the weeks that followed, a series of storms caused by atmospheric rivers hit the sate.
    Simrin Singh, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2023
  • And now a new atmospheric river storm is forecast to soak the Bay Area and the rest of the state Thursday and Friday.
    Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 13 Feb. 2025
  • Among them are rivers that flooded at the start of the year, when nine atmospheric river storms pummeled the state.
    Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Those atmospheric rivers often hit the West Coast and dump extreme amounts of snow and rain.
    Ben Tracy, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2024
  • El Niño has been known to enhance atmospheric river events on the West Coast.
    Mary Gilbert, CNN, 7 Feb. 2024
  • One study projects that damages from atmospheric rivers will triple in the western U.S.
    Jim Foerster, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Two atmospheric rivers are expected to hit the West this week, bringing strong winds, rain and snow.
    Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 12 June 2024
  • Strong atmospheric rivers can transport up to 15 times that amount.
    Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 4 Feb. 2025
  • The rain is expected to be heavier in the North Bay, though not as heavy as when the atmospheric river first arrived in the middle of last week.
    Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 25 Nov. 2024
  • This time last year, Juneau was drenched by an atmospheric river.
    Anna Canny, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023
  • Meanwhile, the chance of a strong atmospheric river storm grows — as does the risk of mudslides in Los Angeles.
    Kevinisha Walker, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2025
  • Indeed, studies have found that the West Coast’s atmospheric rivers, like the one that just hit LA, are getting wetter.
    Matt Simon, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024
  • But the latest storm won't be as intense as last week's atmospheric river, a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land.
    The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 25 Nov. 2024
  • This week, an early season atmospheric river dropped 4 inches of rain in the area, helping to quell the blaze.
    Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2023
  • The same area was battered by the ocean last January as the West Coast was slammed by numerous atmospheric rivers.
    John Antczak, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2023
  • But thanks to an arriving atmospheric river, the highs will move up into the 50s.
    The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Pereira says the atmospheric river is likely to return to the region and could cause flash flooding and other headaches.
    Kristin Wright, NPR, 28 Dec. 2024
  • After the first two waves of this week’s atmospheric river storm, the wettest Bay Area locations had recorded about 5 inches of rain.
    Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2024
  • An atmospheric river and bomb cyclone are what make this storm so powerful — but what do those terms mean?
    Nikki Nolan, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2024
  • Regent’s Slide is the largest of several landslides in the Big Sur area that occurred as a result of last winter’s atmospheric rivers.
    Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
  • The image shows little snowpack in the mountains as the first of two atmospheric river storms approached from the Pacific.
    Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024
  • The Bay Area has a day to dry out before a new atmospheric river closes in on California.
    Michelle Apon, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 Mar. 2023
  • This past winter, the atmospheric rivers that pummeled California washed away many of the pups born at Piedras Blancas.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Oct. 2023
  • This year, even an atmospheric river couldn’t keep around 600 runners away.
    Iris Samuels, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2023
  • Last winter, a series of massive atmospheric river storms dumped dozens of feet of snow on the Sierra Nevada, ending a three-year drought.
    Ethan Baron, The Mercury News, 29 Feb. 2024
  • The culprit for the spike in movement is heavy rains – and runoff from nearby canyons -- brought on by a series of recent atmospheric rivers that have soaked deep into the soil, destabilizing the area.
    Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2025
  • California - Over the past three years, the state has seen its largest wildfire season in history, its worst drought in 1,200 years and a string of record-setting atmospheric rivers.
    Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 7 May 2023
  • The first atmospheric river storm hit the state starting Feb. 1, while the second hit just three days after, the Sacramento Bee reported.
    Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 14 Feb. 2024
  • Last week alone, four premieres around town created an atmospheric river of chamber opera and opera-like works, home-grown and imported.
    Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'atmospheric river.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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