A series of storms fueled by a strong atmospheric river is taking aim at the Bay Area and Northern California, intensified by a so-called "bomb cyclone" that promises heavy rain and potential flooding.

Higher elevation communities in the North Bay will likely see the most rain. Up to 10 inches could fall at higher elevation between now and Friday, according to the National Weather Service. As that water makes its way down the mountains, creeks and streams may break their banks.

Meanwhile, Southern California this week will see dry conditions amid gusty Santa Ana winds that could raise the risk of wildfires in areas where crews are still mopping up a major blaze that destroyed 240 structures.

A bomb cyclone occurs when cold and warm air collide over the ocean, dropping the pressure at a rapid rate and creating intense weather. On the East Coast, that can mean vast quantities of snow. Here on the West Coast, it can usher in buckets of rain.

As a powerful bomb cyclone intensifies off the Pacific coast, Northern California is bracing for a brutal mix of high winds, heavy rain and potential flooding. Weather authorities have issued a series of advisories and warnings,

The storm, known as a " bomb cyclone ," is dragging an atmospheric river along with it, a plume of moisture-filled air that "will act like a massive firehose of rain at low elevations and a giant snow gun over the high country,

It may be sunny skies Tuesday, but an atmospheric river, supercharged through "bombogenesis," is about to hit the Bay Area. The weather phenomenon is barreling toward the West Coast and has plans to stick around Northern California for days,