Mereja.Forum

[Messele Zewdie Ejeta]

It is a common knowledge that orbital forcing keeps the Earth orbit the Sun and the Moon orbit the Earth, in tandem and continuously. This is part of our universe’s marvel.

In simple words, Atmospheric River is like a river in the sky. It is a narrow band of moisture moving in the atmosphere with water content larger than the flow of water in the biggest river in the world.

The current storm system moving from the west coast of the U.S. all the way to its east coast is an example of an active Atmospheric River.

What activates it has been a question for me and most likely for many others.

I have been wondering if orbital forcing has a discernible role it.

Several years ago, I contacted two friends if they knew Ethiopian astronomers who I can work with to characterize orbital geometries in an effort to study meteorological variability.

While I was hoping and waiting to find someone to work with on this research effort, by a mere coincidence, I saw a lunar eclipse one evening. I was outside the home where I was living at the time.

It was a divine sent moment for me. I could quickly see an apparent straight line between the Moon, the Earth, and sun. It became a perfect reference line that was helpful to understand orbital geometries.

I continued my research promptly. It appeared evident in historical precipitation data that meteorological activities around different phases of orbital forcing is discernible.

As an example, there was a lunar eclipse on March 13, 2025. This event coincided with a powerful storm system in the U.S. from its west coast to east coast.

One simple question is whether the event and the storm system are coincidental or if there is some association between them due to orbital forcing.

This question would involve a complicated research effort to answer. It would help answer the complex climate change attribution to natural variability and man made causes.

The following two peer reviewed papers may be helpful for interested researchers.

Step toward a Deterministic Solution of the Paradoxical Hydrological Stationarity Problem

Validation of predicted meteorological drought in California using analogous orbital geometries

I really think that for interested researchers, this new research frontier is a fertile field that would be rewarding in the years to come.