Well, we just finished a long train of “atmospheric river” storms barreling through California. I have lived in California for forty years, but I think that the term atmospheric river is more recent, and really started to become mainstream in the last ten years or so. Especially during a California drought, it usually represents a longing to really get some precipitation out of the next approaching storm.
Besides the attention-getting atmospheric river, recent years have also brought us the bomb cyclone, and the polar vortex. In each case, when I first heard the term, I remember being slightly alarmed, and making sure that I found out what that damn thing was – and that means more clicks.
Has the age of social media and the 24/7 news cycle forced the science of meteorology to up its naming game? It seems like it, although I would have personally started with the name meteorology itself.
