A giant Atmospheric River is headed towards the west coast and residents from California to Washington state are bracing for impact.

Related: First Atmospheric River Of The Season Could Bring LOADS Of Snow To The West!

So far, NOAA has Seattle and Portland receiving up to 6″ of rainfall while their southern neighbor, San Francisco could see up to 2″ of precipitation by the end of the weekend. If that moisture moves far enough inland, Mt Hood, Mt Shasta, the Sierra, and the higher elevations of the Cascades could see FEET of snow.

“The firehose pointed at us late this week won’t just impact Northern California. Plentiful rain will be coming to much of the West Coast!” – NWS Sacramento

While meteorologists are hesitant to project snowfall totals this early, it can be said with a fair amount of confidence that Tahoe and PNW resorts will see a significant amount of snowfall by the end of the weekend.

Forecast: Mount Baker (Mountain)

NOAA Hazardous Weather Outlook

SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN RATHER HIGH THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS COLDER AIR WILL BE CONFINED TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THIS WILL LIMIT TRAVEL IMPACTS WITH SNOW LEVELS STAYING GENERALLY ABOVE 7500 TO 8000 FEET AT LEAST UNTIL EARLY NEXT WEEK.

LET IT SNOW!

Also Read: Atmospheric River Events Can Make or Break Your Ski Season. Here is Why.