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Geography

How Synoptic-Scale Weather Systems Drive Atmospheric Rivers

Quick fact

A single atmospheric river can transport more water vapor than the Amazon River discharges—yet it is often only a few hundred kilometers wide. The same storm that brings calm weather can also steer this moisture plume toward coasts, where it can trigger devastating floods.

Why this is interesting

You've seen the swirl of a midlatitude storm on a satellite loop—but did you know that the same storm can create a 'river in the sky' that carries more water than the Amazon? How does a storm concentrate so much moisture into one narrow band?