By flying over atmospheric rivers, scientists aim to improve forecasts

These drenching storms are pummeling the U.S. West Coast, bringing dangerous flooding and snow

A flooded street with stormy skies overhead

Floodwaters fill the streets of Pajaro, Calif., on March 14 in the wake of an atmospheric river that dumped heavy rain and breached a levee on the Pajaro River.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The term “atmospheric river” may sound airy and ethereal, but these massive, fast-moving, drenching storms can hit as hard as a freight train.