'Pineapple Express' To Dump Significant Rainfall In Bay Area

BAY AREA, CA — Bay Area residents, beware. A "pineapple express" is headed this way and it's expected to bring some heavy rainfall to the region later this week, according to the National Weather Service.

"Seasonably mild and dry weather conditions will persist through midweek," the NWS said in their forecast discussion on Tuesday. "An atmospheric river will then take aim at the California coast late in the week with widespread and potentially heavy rainfall along with gusty southerly winds."

Forecasters said the amount of rain we see will be determined by where exactly the atmospheric river ends up making landfall. The total rainfall between Thursday evening and Saturday could be between 1 and 2 inches in most urban areas, but 2 to 4 inches in the North Bay. The North Bay mountains and coastal ranges may see up to 7 inches of rain during that time period.

"Simply put, WOW," the NWS said. "Given the very juicy airmass advecting over the Bay Area, moderate to heavy rain will develop early Friday and persist well into Friday night and possibly Saturday."

With terms like "pineapple express" and "atmospheric river," you may be wondering what exactly it all means for the area. Well, here's a bit about the terms from NOAA:

Atmospheric rivers are narrow regions in the atmosphere that transport much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes. Atmospheric rivers are part of the Earth's ocean water cycle, and are tied closely to both water supply and flood risks.

A well-known example of a strong atmospheric river is called the "Pineapple Express" because moisture builds up in the tropical Pacific around Hawaii and can wallop the U.S. and Canada's West Coasts with heavy rainfall and snow.

Image via CHOKCHAI POOMICHAIYA, Shutterstock.com