THE thousand-mile coast of California is covered in warnings, watches and advisories for rain, flooding and high surf as another El Nino storm moves in from the Pacific.
The system will pack colder temperatures, stronger winds and heavier rainfall than the two previous storms that have battered the state since the weekend.
Motorists in mountain areas are warned that blizzard conditions are possible above 4,000ft - including several inches of snow and wind gusts up to 60mph.
Flash flooding and flows of mud and debris are a worry in foothill neighbourhoods beneath areas left barren by last year's wildfires.
The National Weather Service says 1.42 inches of rain fell on Tuesday at Los Angeles International Airport, beating the 1979 record for the date by a tenth of an inch.
Meanwhile, a small earthquake gave an early morning wake-up call to the inland region of southern California.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude-4.5 jolt on Wednesday morning and was centred two miles north of Banning, about 85 miles east of Los Angeles.
The Riverside County Fire Department received no reports of problems from the quake.
USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said the area has a history of many quakes in the magnitude-4 range.
Banning is a small city along Interstate 10 in the San Gorgonio Pass between the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountain ranges. ends
The latest El Nino storm hit at the height of the San Francisco commute, causing car crashes, toppling trees and flooding streets and streams around most of the region.
The California Highway Patrol estimated there were nearly two dozen weather-related crashes on Wednesday during the morning drive.
The National Weather Service has issued a flash-flood watch for nearly the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here