"Atmospheric rivers don't dance to the tune of ENSO," said Alexander ... potentially making El Niño and La Niña years stray ...

Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky, transporting much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes.

Atmospheric rivers are a plume of moisture that extend across the Pacific to near Hawaii. When they hit land, they can cause heavy rains and snow. Here’s a look at the phenomenon: ...

An atmospheric river event is forecast to bring rainfall, snow, and the potential for flooding to parts of California this ...

An expert at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography explains the weather phenomenon that can wreak havoc across California.

An atmospheric river is bringing heavy rain to most of California from ... Gavin Newsom's office reported on Feb. 2. NOAA: Watch for slick roads, traffic delays on California highways during winter ...

Exceptionally strong atmospheric rivers can move up to 15 times that amount, often leading to "extreme rainfall and floods," NOAA said.

"Atmospheric rivers don't dance to the tune of ENSO ... and La Niña years stray even further from their typical patterns. NOAA declares an El Niño when waters in the central and eastern ...

according to NOAA. While traditional cold winter storms out of the north Pacific build the Sierra snowpack, atmospheric rivers tend to be warm. Snow may still fall at the highest elevations but ...