Strong atmospheric rivers are expected to wallop the Northwest with heavy rain and snow

By Allison Chinchar and Sara Tonks | CNN

Multiple atmospheric rivers are expected to roll across the northwestern US over the next few days, bringing heavy rain, feet of snow and strong winds.

In total, more than half a dozen western states are under some type of winter weather alert Sunday, as these atmospheric rivers spread from Washington and Oregon eastward into Colorado and Wyoming.

An atmospheric river (AR) is a plume of moisture that helps carry saturated air from the tropics to higher latitudes...