As much of the country deals with winter storms, an atmospheric river is also slated to hit the U.S., bringing heavy rain and flooding starting on Monday, Dec. 8, and continuing throughout the week.
According to meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Weather Prediction Center, the atmospheric river will hit areas of the Pacific Northwest this week.
Atmospheric rivers are “relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the NOAA.
Prolonged Atmospheric River
“The forecast remains on track for a prolonged atmospheric river to usher in several days of heavy rainfall over the Pacific Northwest,” the Prediction Center said in a forecast released Monday. “Beginning this morning, rainfall coverage and intensity is expected to increase across coastal Washington and Oregon as a potent slug of subtropical moisture begins to flow inland along a strong Pacific jet.”
The NWS has also issued flood watches for northwest Oregon and parts of western Washington, with meteorologists stating that the flooding could continue through Thursday, Dec. 11.
According to research from the National Water Center, these storm are expected to also bring “considerable” flooding and even possible landslides along the Cascade Foothills.
“Heavy rainfall rates this week, possibly during the Monday evening commute, may make for hazardous driving,” the NWS forecast office in Portland, Oregon, stated on social media Sunday, Dec. 7. “Most flood-related deaths occur in cars and are preventable. If you encounter flooded roadways, don’t drive through the floodwaters.”
Midweek Clipper Bringing Snow From Great Lakes To Northeast
The Weather Channel is looking at this week’s snow forecast, and on Monday, Dec. 8, they warned of widespread snow likely for the Great Lakes and Northeast.
“A clipper system will slide across the Great Lakes to the Northeast midweek, bringing another shot of snow for the region,” they stated. “Widespread snow totals of 3-5 inches are expected with some locations possibly seeing up to a foot. And that’s not all — the system will also usher in another blast of cold, arctic air.”
In a separate forecast, the Weather Channel experts said to also expect snow coming to the Mid-Atlantic.
“Another quick-hitting system will bring more snow to the mid-Atlantic, falling in the same areas that saw snow on Friday,” they stated. “Snow will impact travel along the I-95 corridor Monday afternoon into the evening. The highest snow totals will likely be across western Virginia and West Virginia. Click on this video to see an hour-by-hour forecast.”
