A massive plume of moisture from the Pacific called an atmospheric river will hit the West Coast on Tuesday afternoon and last into Friday.

Residents of the northwest are bracing this week for an incoming atmospheric river poised to slam Northern California, Oregon and Washington this week, bringing heavy rain and potential hurricane-force winds to the region.

An intense mid-latitude cyclone taking aim at the West Coast of the United States this week, ushering a strong atmospheric river into Oregon and California. This low-pressure system is going through bombogenesis,

The United States is on high alert as a powerful bomb cyclone, combined with a potent atmospheric river, is poised to unleash extreme weather across the west coast this week.

Starting Tuesday, the Pacific Northwest could get at least 6 inches of rain, with 20-plus inches possible in the mountains. Strong winds could cause power outages.

A huge storm is predicted to hit Washington, Oregon, and California this week linked to atmospheric river weather systems.

Over a month’s worth of rain, hurricane-force wind gusts and feet of mountain snow are coming to parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

An atmospheric river and bomb cyclone are what make this storm so powerful — but what do those terms mean? What is an atmospheric river? Atmospheric rivers are no strangers to the western U.S., especially during the fall and winter months.