News

A "Pineapple Express" Storm?

by Alicia Lu

Dec. 11, 2014

California is about to be hit with the biggest storm they've seen in years — or taken on the wildest ride of their lives? With a name like the Pineapple Express, it's hard to guess what Californians are in for, but meteorologists are predicting the biggest storm the state has seen in years. Mild rain and wind have started on late Wednesday, but the Pineapple Express storm is expected to hit California hard on Thursday and through Friday. The entire coast is likely to be affected, including Sacramento, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as strong winds and heavy rain blow through. For a state that normally sees less rain than other parts of the country, it will surely be an emotional event.

Meteorologists have been tracking the storm for days, and the National Weather Service in Monterey, California, reported on Monday that the Pineapple Express is "expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain intensity" since the storms in October 2009 and January 2008. Parts of Northern California are expected to accumulate about three to six inches of rain, but up to as many as nine inches in some areas, while the Sacramento area could experience wind gusts as strong as 60 mph.

But why exactly is the storm called the Pineapple Express? It could have something to do with it being from Hawaii, where pineapples grow like aplenty in the tropical soils. Technically speaking, the storm is a surge of deep moisture, or an atmospheric river, traveling from Hawaii to the Pacific coast. But what meteorologists call a "surge of deep moisture" we call a big-ass storm. And since weather experts can't say "big-ass storm" in their reports, they gave it a colloquial name, the Pineapple Express.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images News/Getty Images

You know what else goes by the title Pineapple Express? A delightfully raunchy 2008 buddy comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco — with a breakout performance by the sloppy, gruff, always-enjoyable Danny McBride. So what better way to illustrate the emotional reactions Californians will have to the Pineapple Express storm than with GIFs from Pineapple Express the movie?