The unusually cold springtime Arctic stratospheres of 2011, 2016 and 2020 generated substantial Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSCs) activity and a significant ozone hole. These events were accompanied by an unusual presence of precipitating liquid clouds in the high Arctic. Satellite lidar measurements helped to identify a possible mechanistic link between tropospheric cloud formation and the PSCs. The synoptic meteorological context provided by the ERA 5 reanalysis was instrumental in the identification of potential liquid-precipitation formation scenarios related to atmospheric rivers.