Atmospheric rivers

USGS: Causes and consequences of flooding in California’s Central Valley

USGS

Planning and management

June 24, 2025

From USGS Ecosystems Land Change Science Program: USGS researchers are leveraging advances in satellite-based monitoring to better characterize and predict...

DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Wet soils increase flooding during atmospheric river storms

Desert Research Institute

Hydrology

June 13, 2025

A new study examined decades of atmospheric river storms across the West Coast to pinpoint the conditions that lead to...

DESERT RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Flooding in Central Valley offers key opportunities for groundwater recharge

Desert Research Institute

Groundwater News

June 11, 2025

The research used satellite imagery to identify where winter flooding occurs, which can improve flood risk awareness and inform how...

NOAA’s atmospheric river research: Serving up data rain or shine

NOAA Research

Planning and management

May 27, 2025

A network of year-round observing stations help meteorologists forecast extreme rainfall events From NOAA Research As the western United States...

NOTEBOOK FEATURE: From forecast to flow: Optimizing California’s reservoirs with FIRO

Maven

Notebook News and FeaturesWater project operations

May 8, 2025

California is adapting to increasingly intense storm patterns, largely driven by atmospheric rivers. These narrow bands of concentrated water vapor...

UCAR: Looking to the Pacific, scientists improve forecasts of atmospheric rivers

Guest Contributor

Planning and management

April 18, 2025

Targeted observations of Pacific conditions benefit weather forecasts nationally, save millions in reservoir costs By David Hosansky, UCAR As atmospheric...

DR. DANIEL SWAIN: Drier and Wetter in 21st Century California: Managing increasing hydroclimate whiplash in a warming world

Maven

Climate changeNotebook News and Features

March 24, 2025

The Los Angeles fires have become a stark example of the devastating effects of hydroclimate whiplash, as extreme weather patterns...

DAN WALTERS: California lacks the capacity to store water that atmospheric rivers dump on the state

Cal Matters

Groundwater News

February 26, 2025

By Dan Walters, Cal Matters President Donald Trump is obsessed with how California manages its water supply, demanding changes as...

SCRIPPS: Atmospheric rivers explain atypical El Niño and La Niña years

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Hydrology

February 22, 2025

By Alex Fox, Scripps Institution of Oceanography El Niño and La Niña are climate phenomena that are generally associated with...

COURTHOUSE NEWS: Even big storms can’t fill LA’s deepest aquifers, study finds

Courthouse News Service

Groundwater News

February 14, 2025

Researchers at Stanford University developed a new method to measure water levels in the state’s aquifers using readily available seismic...

STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Los Angeles groundwater remained depleted after 2023 deluge, study finds

Stanford University

Groundwater News

February 14, 2025

Historic rains filled Greater Los Angeles reservoirs and shallow aquifers nearly to capacity in 2023. But drought conditions persisted in...

SIERRA NEVADA ALLY: After wildfires, wet storms and burn scars join forces in elevating landslide risk

Sierra Nevada Ally

Wildfires and watersheds

February 3, 2025

Atmospheric rivers are here to stay. What impact do they have on fire stricken landscapes? By Richard Bednarski, Sierra Nevada...

NCAR: Changes in store for atmospheric rivers

National Center for Atmospheric Research

Hydrology

January 20, 2025

Warming climate will affect the storms differently in California, Pacific Northwest By David Hosansky, National Center for Atmospheric Research Communities...

EOS: 2023 California storms recharged watersheds, geodesy data reveal

American Geophysical Union

HydrologyScience

December 13, 2024

By Caroline Hemphill, EOS Dozens of atmospheric rivers, superconcentrated channels of water in the sky, dumped staggering amounts of rain...

SCRIPPS: Taking Flight: UC San Diego Shaping Future of Atmospheric River Forecasting

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

HydrologyScience

December 10, 2024

The Atmospheric River Reconnaissance program flies into storms to improve forecasts with the help of AI By Alex Fox, Scripps...