An atmospheric river is moving to the West Coast, likely to bring menacing flooding, heavy mountain snow, and damaging winds.
Atmospheric rivers are narrow corridors of the upper atmosphere that transport intense moisture from a large body of water onto land.
The Pineapple Express is a specific atmospheric river that originates near Hawaii and travels across the Pacific Ocean to the western coast of North America.
Thursday through Saturday, heavy precipitation will move into Oregon and Washington. Coastal regions will become saturated from very heavy rain, with as much as 4-8 inches expected.