LOS ANGELES (AP) — The second in a trio of storms arrived in California early Friday, spreading rain that was heavy at times up and down the soggy state.
Flash flood warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for southeastern Sonoma County and in central Santa Cruz County and southeastern Santa Clara County.
Radar and automated rain gauges indicated thunderstorms were producing heavy rains across those areas, the weather service said.
On the Central Coast, a flood advisory was issued for parts of San Luis Obispo County as rain fell at rates between a quarter-inch and a half-inch per hour.
A flash flood watch was issued for wildfire burn scar areas north and east of Los Angeles out of concern that periods of heavy rain could trigger mud and debris flows from denuded mountain slopes.
Storm warnings were also posted up and down the Sierra Nevada and across the mountains of Southern California.
Big surf also was rolling ashore, and forecasters said waves could build to 30 feet on the Central Coast.
The third storm was forecast to be the strongest of the trio and hit the state through the weekend. Storms since the fall have caused drought to retreat from nearly half the state.
Downtown Los Angeles is among many locations seeing significant improvement after five years of drought.
As of Thursday night, downtown had received 9.82 inches of rain since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, nearly 4 inches above normal to date and well above the 3.76 inches that had fallen in the same period a year earlier.
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)