Atmospheric rivers aren’t new. Why does it feel like we’re hearing about them more?

By Danielle Venton – NPR

California is in the midst of a strong atmospheric river that’s caused flooding, evacuations, road closures, and mention of it is all over the news and social media. And this comes on the heel of two previous winters where the Golden State saw damaging storms of the same kind. If you have the feeling that in the past few years, you’ve started hearing the term a lot more, you are not alone. You’re not even wrong.

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 couple reasons may explain why.