Call it an atmospheric river, a Pineapple Express or just weather, but some parts of California and the U.S. Northwest are being slammed by up to foot of rain before the storm runs out of moisture Wednesday, forecasters say.

The wet weather repesents an about-face after a relatively dry January that helped fuel fires that destroyed thousands of homes in Southern California. This storm will be centered in northern and central California, where some areas will get a month or more of rain in a couple days before the system moves on.

“A prolonged atmospheric river event will continue to bring moderate to heavy rain with a risk for flooding to northern and into central California with heavy mountain snow,” the National Weather Service warned in its weather statement, adding that high winds may bring power outages and make for difficult travel in some areas.

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow tracts of the Earth’s atmosphere that gather moisture from the tropics near the equator and sweep it toward the poles. A Pineapple Express is an atmospheric river that originates near Hawaii.

“What stands out about this Pineapple Express is the duration,” AccuWeather meteorologist Heather Zehr told USA TODAY. “It really began reaching the coast Thursday night, and the rain is piling up.”

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AccuWeather meteorologists are forecasting a large part of the northern third of California and southwestern Oregon to see several inches of rain. AccuWeather warned of possibe flooding, avalanches, strong winds and travel delays. California cities including San Francisco and Redding could receive a month’s worth of rain.

Landslides and mudslides are possible from the top of California to San Francisco, Zehr said. That could lead to road closures and travel disruptions.

Developments:

◾ Record high temperatures are expected across portions of the Southwest out through the Southern Plains through the middle of the week.

◾ Arctic high pressure will be settling south from Canada across much of the northern tier of the nation early this week with temperatures well below normal.

A month of rain in a few days

The heaviest rain, up to a foot or more, from the Pineapple Express was forecast for Northwestern California and the northern Sierra Nevada mountain range. San Francisco, with a historical February rainfall average of 3.96 inches, is forecast to get up to 4 inches. Redding averages 5.48 inches in February but could see 4-8 inches by Wednesday, AccuWeather said.

This storm won’t move on to create a path of destruction in the nation’s interior, Zehr said.

“This does not translate inland,” she said. “As it moves inland, it loses its connection to the tropics and the storm kind of fizzles.”

In the East, weather could get dangerous

A massive storm forecast for later in the week could bring havoc to a large section of the nation’s eastern half,  AccuWeather meteorologists say.

“A clash of warm, humid air and cold Arctic air will result in a myriad of impactful weather for millions of Americans this week,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said. “Severe thunderstorms, a dangerous ice storm and accumulating snow are all expected between Wednesday and Thursday as a storm races east.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pineapple Express brings heavy rain, possible mudslides to California