ARIZONA, USA — You’ve heard forecasters talking about the atmospheric river that's fueling the storm in California and is moving toward Arizona.

The meteorological event is reinforcing rainfall in the West this weekend into next week.

But what exactly is an atmospheric river? As 12News meteorologist Krystle Long explains, an atmospheric river is exactly as it sounds.

“It's like a river or a focused funnel of water vapor in our atmosphere, kind of like your garden hose,” said Long. “And right now, it is crashing into California.”

Those showers then have their sights set on State 48 starting this weekend.

“These atmospheric rivers can actually carry the amount of water vapor equal to that average flow of the mouth of the Mississippi River,” Long said. “Strong atmospheric rivers can be

See Full Page