US 3 April 2025(Punjab Khabarnama Bureau): A firehose of moisture is likely to produce repeating thunderstorms along with torrential downpours over the middle of the US through this week, AccuWeather reported. Over a foot of rain may pour down from portions of Arkansas to Kentucky and Ohio, which likely trigger major and historic flooding, meteorologists have warned.
Intense rainfall is likely to affect more than 46 million people over the central US, of which at least 13 million will be within a high- to extreme-flood risk zone. There is also a risk of catastrophic flooding in some communities within the higher-risk zones.
From Wednesday night, March 2, heavy rain and flooding could start escalating. The downpours’ normal west-to-east or northwest-to-southeast path will be blocked by a building zone of high pressure from midweek on, over the Southeast states that is expected to evolve into a heat dome.
The setup will lead to the formation of a conveyor belt of moisture Wednesday night and continue into Saturday night. This will bring several hours of heavy rain over many days from the Ozarks in Arkansas to the middle portion of the Mississippi Valley to much of the Ohio Valley.
“That moisture plume, known as an atmospheric river, will be tropical in nature and originate from the Caribbean,” AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist William Clark said. “Tropical moisture raises the risk of excessive rainfall.”
What is an atmospheric river?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, “Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. While atmospheric rivers can vary greatly in size and strength, the average atmospheric river carries an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River.”
Summary: A powerful atmospheric river is set to bring severe storms and life-threatening flooding to the Central US, prompting urgent weather warnings and preparedness measures.