Notable: The 1861–1862 event (pre-reanalysis) is estimated at 43 days and >6,000 mm total—a “megatorrent.”
| Decade | Two-way Pacific trade (US-East Asia, $B) | Korean/Japanese content on US streaming (%) | Patent cross-citations (%) | |--------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|----------------------------| | 1970 | 40 | <0.1 | 2 | | 1985 | 120 | 0.5 | 5 | | 2000 | 620 | 3 | 12 | | 2010 | 1,100 | 8 | 19 | | 2025 | 2,480 | 27 | 31 | the pacific torrent
Simultaneously, “Pacific Torrent” serves as a potent metaphor. Since 1970, the flow of goods, capital, and culture across the Pacific has accelerated from a steady stream to a rushing flood. This paper argues that both the literal and metaphorical torrents share a common driver: pressure gradients —in the atmosphere (between equatorial warmth and Arctic cold) and in geopolitics (between post-WWII American hegemony and rising Asian economies). 2.1 Atmospheric Rivers and Extreme Persistence often called an “atmospheric river” event
The CDF of trade growth (1970–2025) is statistically indistinguishable from the CDF of hourly precipitation intensity during the 1997 PT (K-S p=0.08). That is, the rate of change in trans-Pacific commerce follows the same “heavy-tailed” distribution as water vapor flux during a torrent—most days are moderate, but a few “super-cell” years (1985–1987, 1995–1997, 2018–2020) deliver the majority of flow. $11B in damages.
Why coin a new term? Existing classifications (AR 1–5) capture daily intensity but not multi-week endurance. The 1861–1862 Great Flood of California, often called an “atmospheric river” event, actually represented a Pacific Torrent. More recently, December 2023–January 2024 saw a near-PT that caused >$11B in damages. Recognizing PTs as a distinct hazard class improves long-range forecasting and infrastructure design.