Introducing… atmospheric rivers. You may have heard the term before, but now the media has decided you’re really going to learn about it.
As of this writing, Southern California is experiencing the second of a three to four day pelting of winter storms caused by atmospheric rivers; a relatively new meteorological phenomenon. I must admit, until the last couple of weeks , this term has flown below my radar.
But , boy is the media reporting at breathless pitch. “Atmospheric Rivers!” ”Dangerous driving conditions!” “Flash flood Warnings!” “Strong winds knocking down trees!” ”Historic rainfall!”
And right on cue, state of emergency declarations issued at the beginning of the SoCal onslaught, warned people, out of an abundance of caution, not to travel during severe weather. This news conference by LA Mayor Karen Bass is cued at 2:05. Listen to 2:42:
I’m sure Mayor Bass cares for her constituents. However, didn’t this news conference come off as just a bit condescending?
A reader sent me this picture they snapped while driving before the first drop rain drop hit their area.
We need a sign telling us to avoid travel? Don’t most people make the decision of basing their travel on weather conditions without prompting by government?
But now, introducing… atmospheric rivers.
Apparently, the term has been floating in the atmosphere since the 1990’s , when it was first coined by a pair of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A Bay Area news outlet explains what an atmospheric river is in this video prompted at :20
“Long flowing bands of water vapor that move through the sky. They can be just 250 miles wide and extend over 1000 miles in length.”
I am no expert, but this sounds like a description of clouds.
‘The origin of these vapor rivers can be found in the warm waters of the tropical pacific… the warm water …evaporates… that water vapor carried by the wind is the key element and has the potential to produce excessive rain and snow…”
Evaporation of ocean water… isn’t this how rain forms ?
Granted, the tropical origin contributes to the familiar term “Pineapple Express” which has been a weather phenomenon for as long as I can remember. But now the experts tell us a “Pineapple Express” is a type of atmospheric river.
The earliest article I found, in my research, was from 2014 and over the years, scientists have written how atmospheric rivers can be a blessing and a curse.
As a blessing, meteorologists say the phenomenon has , in some years accounted for up to 50 percent of the rainfall totals in California. But the curse, according to meteorological research is the torrential rains and damaging wind gusts associated with atmospheric rivers.
Ok.
Adverse events have accompanied “Pineapple Express” events in years past. Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, certain areas are just prone to floods and flash floods. The same goes for mudslides happening in the usual foothill and burn areas. These are common occurrences in Southern California during periods of heavy rain.
Usually the media inundates us with breathless “storm-watch” reporting, showing viewers the aftermath of flooding, toppled trees, downed power lines and morning commuters on flooded streets. Viewers have seen those images with this storm, but with a different mantra.
Now the media chorus is “atmospheric river this” and “atmospheric river that.” Going back to my research , the bulk of the press regarding AR’s has been 2024 and 2023. Is this a building narrative by the media?
When every news outlet is saying the same term, that is a narrative. A narrative is when the media wants you to think or believe in a certain way. What does the media want us to think about atmospheric rivers?
Let’s be honest, “storm-watch” has become a hackneyed term, a tired cliche. Atmospheric river …well… that has a fearful ring to it , especially when climate change is brought into the equation.
Just do an internet search. You will find many stories about AR’s inevitably declaring how climate change could make these weather events much worse. That, of course, is supposed to scare you.
Maybe ginning up more fear about climate change explains this intense desire to introduce the public to atmospheric rivers? Or maybe atmospheric rivers are a very real , potentially destructive force of nature that deserve more research? You be the judge.
