A major storm swept across the northwest U.S. Tuesday evening, battering the region with strong winds and rain and causing widespread power outages and downed trees that killed at least one person.
The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season overwhelms the region. The storm system is considered a “ bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.
