Here's how a typhoon is helping the Bay Area get rain

Drew Tuma Image
Thursday, October 13, 2016
The ABC7 News Storm Impact Scale is seen in this undated image.
Live Doppler 7HD shows rain totals the Bay Area will get on Friday, October 14, 2016.
Live Doppler 7HD shows rain totals the Bay Area will get on Friday, October 14, 2016.
Live Doppler 7HD shows rain totals the Bay Area will get on Friday, October 14, 2016.
Live Doppler 7HD shows rain totals the Bay Area will get on Friday, October 14, 2016.
(KGO-TV)
(KGO-TV)
Live Doppler 7HD shows the amount of rain expected Friday, October 14, 2016.
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Here's how a typhoon is helping the Bay Area get rainThe ABC7 News Storm Impact Scale is seen in this undated image.
KGO-TV

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- It's a small world, especially when it comes to the atmosphere. The wetter pattern we are about to get in the Bay Area is getting some help from a typhoon thousands of miles away.

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Typhoons are the same thing as hurricanes in the United States. They get different names depending on which side of the International Date Line the storm is located.

An Atmospheric River is taking moisture from Typhoon Songda and funneling it towards the West Coast. This is helping to enhance rainfall totals, especially in the Bay Area in the coming days.

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The ABC7 weather team is forecasting a moderate storm, which ranks a 2 on the Storm Impact Scale, moving in Thursday night and making a mess of the Friday morning commute. Another storm will arrive Saturday evening. This one will be a lighter storm, a 1 on the Storm Impact Scale. Our wettest spots will see over an inch of rain from these storms combined. However, to our north in Oregon and Washington, some areas could see well over 8" of rainfall.

RELATED: The ABC7 News Storm Impact Scale explained

Be sure to download the ABC7 News App to track the rain with Live Doppler 7 HD as it moves into the Bay Area.

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