The United States is in a weather drought right now—there’s not much to talk about outside of the tropics. However, this weekend will feature some active weather in an area they need it the most. Heavy rain is possible in the interior northwest around Idaho and Montana over the next several days, potentially aiding firefighters in their war against raging wildfires that are burning hundreds of thousands of acres of land, covering the region in a thick blanket of smoke.

A series of strong storms will begin impacting the Pacific Northwest over the next couple of days, each bringing the opportunity for incredibly heavy precipitation through this weekend. Lower elevations could see up to a foot of rain, while mountain peaks could see nearly ten feet of snow.

This gorgeous low pressure system approaching the Pacific Northwest will bring gusty winds and heavy rains to the region over the next couple of days. Some areas could see more than three inches of rain over the next week.

An Oregon photographer took an absolutely stunning time lapse video of a thunderstorm bubbling up near Mount Hood, sending its gorgeous, multicolored clouds streaming over the snow-capped mountain peak and across the horizon.