Multiple Atmospheric Rivers and Substantial Precipitation

 During the next weeks, a series of potent plumes of moisture (water vapor), commonly known as  atmospheric rivers, will be arriving on the West Coast, and we in the Pacific Northwest will get a substantial taste of it.

Much of the arriving moisture will have traveled thousands of miles from Southeast Asia!

Let me show you forecasts of these atmospheric rivers.  Red colors indicate the most potent areas of water vapor.  At 6 PM tonight (Tuesday), there is an atmospheric river with a tail that extends thousands of miles to the west.

Here is a moisture channel view of the atatmosoer river tonight.  You will notice the moisiture plume heads northwestward into the Gulf of Alaska where it circles around a large low pressure center..  Another stream of moisture is apparent far to the west, starting near SE Asia.  

Thursday morning, another atmospheric river is extending into southwest BC

Next Monday, a potent, intense river will push into north/central California

And the following Friday, a strong river hits the northwest

Still there there on Sunday morning.

These atmospheric rivers will bring lots of precipitation to our region.  Below is the total through Sunday morning.   Our regional mountains get hit pretty hard.  Even more during the next week (not shown).

The latest seasonal forecats are for wetter than normal conditions over the Northwest this winter (see below).  Not surprising for a La Nina year.