During the storm, KGW viewer Carrie reached out to ask if an atmospheric river is the same thing as a Pineapple Express, another term that often pops up to describe heavy rain in the Portland region.

When it reaches the west coast, the Pineapple Express can dump as much as five inches of rain on California in one day," the NOAA says of the storm. See Photos from the Record-Setting Winter Storm ...

The Pineapple Express is a stream of moisture in the atmosphere that delivers humid air from the tropical Pacific to the West ...