The river there was below 3 feet on July 19, but it had risen to almost 7 feet before the storm hit. On Aug. 8, three days after Debby reached Georgia, the river gauge topped 14 feet.

In recent years, "atmospheric river" has become used much more frequently in scientific papers and in media coverage. According to experts who study climate and weather, a few reasons may explain why.

According to Porter, this atmospheric river will be "unusually potent" and moisture-laden. The tropical moisture being dumped on the East Coast has travelled some 2,000 miles from the Caribbean Sea.

A large area of low pressure in the northeastern Pacific is driving atmospheric river pulses, one after another, into the U.S. West Coast, said Chad Hecht, a research meteorologist with the Center ...

So, when they make landfall and release all that water, they can cause extreme flooding. Satellite image of an atmospheric river swirling toward the West Coast on Jan. 31. NOAA ...

Atmospheric rivers provide the moisture, and the bomb cyclone provides the intensity and increased winds. The major event this week has rainfall totals upwards of 10-20 inches in some spots.

The environmental impacts are substantial. Dredging rivers destroys estuaries and habitats and exacerbates flooding. Scraping coastal ecosystems churns up vegetation, soil and seabeds and disrupts ...

Repeated atmospheric rivers are hitting the West Coast into next week, fueling flood risk Up to 15 inches of precipitation could fall along the North Coast and other parts of Northern California ...

An atmospheric river will continue to impact the West Coast over the next 24 hours. A record amount of moisture is hitting the Pacific Northwest as the powerful system continues to bring heavy ...

From patrolling harbours to ferrying maintenance crews to and from wind farms, workboats are the life blood of our rivers and coasts. But, just like the shipping industry, tough questions are ...

Just a few of these rivers can bring about 30-50% of annual precipitation on the West Coast, according to NOAA, and have been found to be stronger and more frequent during strong El Niño years ...