Mother Nature to drop a 'bombogenesis' on California Friday night

National Weather Service reported a bombogensis is headed for Northern California Feb. 17, 2017. National Weather Service reported a bombogensis is headed for Northern California Feb. 17, 2017. Photo: National Weather Service Photo: National Weather Service Image 1 of / 59 Caption Close Mother Nature to drop a 'bombogenesis' on California Friday night 1 / 59 Back to Gallery

Mother Nature is about to drop another weather bomb on California.

A rapidly intensifying storm, which meteorologists describe with the fancy term "bombogenesis," is developing in the Pacific and forecast to hit the state Friday night.

The process of bombogenesis occurs when a low pressure storm system intensifies rapidly, or "bombs out." To qualify, the minimum central air pressure must drop 24 millibars in 24 hours.

"It's basically the developmental stages of a cyclone," said Bob Benjamin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Monterey. "Because it rapidly develops over such a short period of time, it's fairly intense. And when you get the intense deeper low, you get stronger winds and heavier precipitation."

Benjamin said winds will pick up across the Bay Area Friday morning with gusts up to 45 miles per hour. Central and Southern California will receive the heaviest rain as an atmospheric river is forecast to drench the region, while the Bay Area will see less moisture and is expected to receive a half-inch to an inch.

"The heavy rains are probably going to be problematic in Southern California," Benjamin said. "They'll receive several inches over a short period of time."

The term bombogenesis might sound foreboding, but Benjamin said, "This is a fairly common weather scenario in the weather world and especially in the Northeast. It does happen out here, but not as often. Normally our storms progress more evenly across the Pacific."