Western US battles rain and flooding as ‘atmospheric river’ storm hits

Portions of northern California, Oregon and Washington could see an inch of rain an hour, spurring mudslides and debris flows

Several western US states are battling heavy rain, wind and flooding as a powerful storm system sweeps across the region.

This system, called an atmospheric river", bore down on portions of northern California, Oregon and Washington on Tuesday. The deluge could also spur mudslides and debris flows, according to the New York Times.