After an unusually dry January, a weather system called an atmospheric river - or Pineapple Express - is now headed towards northern California. Pineapple Express events have the potential to bring huge quantities of rain, as well as snow to higher ground.

The Pineapple Express is an atmospheric river in the sky that comes from the Pacific near Hawaii. When it hits the California coast it dumps huge amounts of water and can cause deadly mudslides. Since wildfires kill roots that hold much of the earth in the region during floods,

Instead of major fires the Golden State will be delt with major rainfall with precipitation amounts that could reach over half a foot over the next week.

The Pineapple Express is a type of atmospheric river— a narrow, fast-moving "river in the sky" that transports significant moisture over long distances.