The Guardian reports:
Heavy and prolonged rainfall will cause both more frequent and more severe flooding across the UK and the rest of north-west Europe as the atmosphere continues to warm, say British and American scientists
The study of these “atmospheric rivers”, published in Environmental Research Letters, pins the blame for the increasing flood risk firmly on man-made climate change and says the same problem will afflict other parts of the planet.
The researchers describe how atmospheric rivers carry vast amounts of water vapour around the Earth, delivering heavy and prolonged rainfall, particularly to mountainous areas. They were responsible for the protracted winter and summer floods in the UK in 2012, which caused an estimated $1.6 billion (£1 bn) in damage.
They really have those massive mountain ranges in NW Europe.
Apparently “atmospheric river” is just another name for well-known consisten currents like the Jet Stream and many others. I’ve heard the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic referred to the same way for decades. In itself, the term “atmospheric river” is just an evocative way of describing air movement, a bit like the term “greenhouse effect.” It lacks rigor but is not itself a loaded term.