Atmospheric River Brings Flood Threat to Oregon

From NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Laboratory:

As a plume of moisture travels across the Pacific towards the Pacific Northwest, the National Weather Service has issued flood outlooks for four counties in Oregon. Up to 10 inches may fall over the next 24 hours in Curry County, which may result in rapid rises in rivers and streams in the region. The newly operational GOES-15 satellite's improved water vapor sensor can see such plumes as they traverse the Pacific basin. In this image, taken on December 29, 2011 at 1830z, areas of the atmosphere containing the most moisture are colored in bright green, whereas dry areas are colored brown.