A potent storm brought heavy rain and gusty winds to southwestern Canada and the U.S. state of Washington.
In October 2024, southern British Columbia and western Washington faced significant rainfall from a potent atmospheric river. The storm, which also hit Vancouver and Vancouver Island, caused widespread flooding and power outages. Additionally, a second pulse intensified the impact, all following a record-breaking Category 5 event in September that was among the most intense in recent history.
Arrival and Impact of the Atmospheric River
About a month after a powerful atmospheric river soaked coastal British Columbia, another storm brought heavy rain to southern parts of the Canadian province and western Washington in the U.S.
This new atmospheric river made landfall over British Columbia on October 18, 2024, and moved down the coast over the next two days. Southern Vancouver Island saw as much as 300 millimeters (12 inches) of rain between October 18 and 20, while the Vancouver metropolitan area on the mainland received up to 150 millimeters (6 inches). The intense rainfall overwhelmed Vancouver’s storm drain system, leading to widespread flooding, according to the Vancouver Sun.
Severe Weather Hits Southern Regions
Further south, the storm delivered rain and strong winds to western Washington. The Olympic Peninsula recorded up to 150 millimeters of rain, while gusty winds downed trees and caused power outages for 14,500 households in the Puget Sound area on October 19. Research led by NASA has shown that atmospheric rivers are often linked to the most destructive storms in mid-latitude regions, particularly because of the dangerous winds they generate.
Satellite Imagery and Atmospheric Phenomena
A second pulse of water vapor moved over southwest British Columbia and northern Washington on October 20, when the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-21 satellite captured this image. In the image, an elongated stream of water vapor—the hallmark of atmospheric rivers—had reached the western coast of North America after crossing the Pacific Ocean. When atmospheric rivers encounter land, they often release that water vapor in the form of rain or snow.
Predictions and Historical Context of Atmospheric Rivers
According to the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the University of California, San Diego, forecasters expected the atmospheric river to hit western Canada as a Category 3 or 4 event, the second- and third-highest tiers on the scale. The storm follows an unusually strong Category 5 atmospheric river that hit British Columbia in September 2024. Experts suspect that the September atmospheric river was among the most intense events to transit the northeast Pacific in a satellite-based record going back to 2000.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS).
Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.
Follow us on Google and Google News.
7 Comments
According to my American Indian ancestors The Iroquois Nation my Great Grandfather 1684-1750 Canassatego.com We are going to revisit 1824-25 when Congress stopped all indigenous people from ceremonies of heritage… Which led to 1938 weather event in California everything is the same socially and spiritually… Look it up… It is coming… God bless 🙏🙏🙏
“Atmospheric river” is not a meteorological term. No reputable weather service would use it. It sensationlizes an extream weather event. Dramatizing weather events diminishes the credibility of whomever uses the phrase. Immature and childish broadcasting.
Moronic. They are mentioning a lot of rain on the Olympic Peninsula. Do you know what is there? The Olympic rain forest. Yes it rains there ALL the time. Winter summer spring and fall.
The storm, did bring rain, heavy at times locally in WA. other areas received wind ans showers.
This is a normal event in WA this time of the year.
I totally concur. It’s a made-up term by climate alarmists to sensationalize the weather.
Atmospheric river is a perfectly plausible, scientific term for tje long vapor “rivers” that bring deluges of moisture, including snow in mountainous areas, in the Pacific NW.
No. It is flagrant and outlandish sensationalizing to attract attention and money.