“Interestingly, atmospheric river storms are found to produce more than two times more daily rainfall than non-AR storms at most [rainfall weather] stations, and significantly more than three times for the west side of mountainous areas and northern New Zealand,” researchers Assad Shamseldin, Evan Weller and Jingxiang Shu, of the University of Auckland, found.
Nasa/Supplied
This Nasa image shows an atmospheric river hitting California in 2014. They play an essential role in regional water resources and are responsible for many extreme rainfall events on the western side of mountainous areas and northern New Zealand. “Depending on the season in these areas, 40 per cent to 86 per cent of the rainfall totals and 50 per cent to 98 per cent of extreme rainfall events are shown to be associated with atmospheric rivers,” the researchers found.