Atmospheric River Seen From Space As Storm Hits 9 States At Once

Winter weather warnings were issued for nine states as they all faced impacts from a storm making its way across the western U.S.

An atmospheric river arrived on the West Coast on Sunday and wreaked havoc with severe rain, snow and high winds. The storm followed a similar system that brought a deluge of rain to California last week, leading to saturated ground prone to flooding with the second system. Catastrophic flooding did occur, particularly in Los Angeles County.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites captured the atmospheric river ominously moving across the U.S. as the National Weather Service (NWS) issued weather warnings for nine states in advance of the storm's arrival.

"This morning, @NOAA's #GOESWest is continuing to monitor a large #AtmosphericRiver bringing flooding rains, strong winds, and coastal flooding to southern California," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning. "The system is also bringing the threat for heavy mountain snow to parts of the Great Basin and southern Rockies."

Atmospheric rivers are defined as a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to NOAA.

Satellite imagery accompanying the post showed the storm swirling over nearly the entire western U.S. from the Mexico border northward to the Canadian border in Montana.

NWS Weather Prediction Center meteorologist and forecaster Ashton Robinson Cook told Newsweek that the atmospheric river is part of a broader storm system that is currently moving inland. Robinson Cook said that part of the system is still centered over western California, causing some lingering heavy rain in the southwestern region of the state.

"Eventually, this system will slide into the interior western U.S. and is a big part of the reason for the snow to pick up, especially in the higher territory of Arizona northward through Wyoming," Robinson Cook said.

California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana faced winter weather warnings as the storm arrived. The storm's impacts included a threat of heavy snow across all nine states.

The heavy snow will make travel difficult if not impossible in some areas, the NWS warned.

"The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute," the NWS office in Pocatello, Idaho, warned. "If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency."

Robinson Cook said the system will traverse over the Intermountain West for a few days before it moves into the central U.S.