A category 4 atmospheric river is forecast to drench the Pacific Northwest early this week

[libertybele]

??? I've never heard of an atmospheric river...

A category 4 atmospheric river is forecast to drench the Pacific Northwest early this week

A category 4 out of 5 atmospheric river is forecast to bring heavy rain, river flooding and snow to the Pacific Northwest early this week.
On the atmospheric river scale a category 4 is characterized by "mostly hazardous" but also "beneficial" in terms of the amount of rain expected, according to the Center for Western Water and Weather Extremes (CW3E).
Atmospheric rivers can be both good and bad. On the good side, they are the main contributor of the West Coast water supply, however they are also the source for the region's most impactful flooding events.

And this week is no exception in terms of heavy rain and flooding across Washington and Oregon.

"Starting late Sunday night a strong atmospheric river will spread into western Washington and far northwest Oregon," the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Portland, Oregon, said.

The heaviest rain is expected on Monday through Tuesday morning, with 24-hour rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches forecast along portions of the Washington and Oregon coasts. Isolated higher rainfall amounts are possible across portions of the Cascades during this same time span. .............

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/27/weather/weather-atmospheric-river-pacific-northwest-washington-oregon/index.html

[Elderberry]

3 to 6 inches of rain in 24hrs is heavy? How about Alvin TX, a little south of me, getting 42 inches in 24hrs.

[libertybele]

3 to 6 inches of rain in 24hrs is heavy? How about Alvin TX, a little south of me, getting 42 inches in 24hrs.

The names that they come up with these days for weather is laughable .... "atmospheric river"???  That's a new one to me ... and it's a category 4....hmm....must be serious. 

[jmyrlefuller]

Atmospheric rivers are a real thing.

But they don't have categories. Who writes these headlines?!

(Note: after doing a quick check on the source referenced in the article, it traces back to the University of California-San Diego. This seems to be a thing that only they really focus on, as I don't recall it being discussed much during my time in an Eastern state meteorology school, where lake-effect snow and nor'easters were the primary focus.)

[Texas Yellow Rose]

3 to 6 inches of rain in 24hrs is heavy? How about Alvin TX, a little south of me, getting 42 inches in 24hrs.

I live in Alvin and was here for the 42 inches.  I had laughed out loud for that "3 to 6 inches"!

[roamer_1]

It ain't much of a thing in the coastal mountains where they get a pile of rain all the time - Except maybe in the cities, where it may overwhelm city drainage... But if it gets to inland Oregon and southern Washington up in that high desert chaparral six inches of water at once is damn mean... Y'all got to remember that this up in here is all up on end... Erosion and mudslides can be devastating. Where I am, not so much as it is all rock, but over there it is all clay and sand.

[Elderberry]

I live in Alvin and was here for the 42 inches.  I had laughed out loud for that "3 to 6 inches"!

I was here, a short walk from Hobby, for Claudette too.