Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs California is about to get soaked, whipped and dumped on again.A robust storm system will sweep in from Wednesday night into Friday, bringing the threat of strong winds, heavy rain or snow to every part of the state.Officials are especially worried about the risk of flash flooding and mudslides in areas that were recently burned by wildfires in coastal Southern California. But across the entire state, power outages and airport delays as well as road closures from flooding, snow and downed trees are possible as the storm moves through. This system is also churning up the Pacific Ocean and will bring dangerous surf to beaches.Key things to knowThe heaviest rain and snow are expected Thursday. Some moisture brought modest amounts of rain to the San Francisco Bay Area and Central California overnight and to Southern California on Wednesday morning, but the main event starts Wednesday night and is expected to last until Friday afternoon.In Southern California, this storm is expected to be the strongest of the winter so far, raising the risk of flooding on roadways and streams and especially in wildfire burn scars. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said on Tuesday that he was especially concerned bursts of torrential rain over the burn scars left by the Palisades and Eaton fires in the Los Angeles area could trigger rivers of water, mud and debris. Some evacuation warnings have already been issued.In Northern California, rain is expected to be heaviest around the Bay Area and just south of it. Downtown San Francisco is likely to see at least see an inch of rain, and up to about three inches, which could lead to some nuisance flooding.This storm is on track to be the biggest snow producer so far this winter, with multiple feet of snow expected in the Sierra Nevada.Rain will bring a flash-flooding risk to Southern California.The storm is expected to be the strongest of the season so far for Southern California, which has seen an otherwise dry start to winter, even with the recent rains.The rain is on track to start out light on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and pick up Thursday afternoon, before ending early Friday. Heavy rain could lead to flooding of roads, small creeks and streams along the coast, but the the biggest danger is the potential flow of debris from areas burned by wildfires, which could be life-threatening.Santa Barbara County issued an evacuation warning for people around an area that was burned by the Lake fire last year.Urban flooding is likely, especially in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, but Ryan Kittell, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said it was not expected to be as severe as it was in 2023 when, after storms, the streets of downtown Santa Barbara turned into rivers.“The totals don’t look as high for Santa Barbara as those storms, and the rainfall leading up to those storms is much less for this storm,” Mr. Kittell said. “But with that in mind, we do anticipate lots of road issues in Santa Barbara.”While the rainfall totals will add up across 48 hours, the short, sharp bursts of rain are the main threat. These could cause flash flooding that leads to flows of water, mud, boulders, trees and the ashen remains of debris in areas scorched by wildfires.There’s a 10 to 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in Los Angeles County, and these could bring the heavy rainfall rates that might cause a debris flow. But the heavy localized torrential downpours are possible even without thunderstorms as the most intense periods of the storm, whether that occurs across 15 or 60 minutes, “could be very heavy indeed,” Mr Swain said.The Weather Service said the concern for flash flooding was highest in areas burned by the Palisades and Eaton fires in January and by the Bridge fire in September.The southern half of the state will also get whipped by winds Wednesday through Friday, and the Weather Service warned that delays are possible at airports including Los Angeles International Airport.Northern California gets yet another round of rain.The northern part of the state has received more rain than normal this winter, and it’s about to get more. While this is not the biggest storm of the season for the area, one to three inches of rain is expected at the coast and in the valleys, and more is likely in the higher terrains.While there’s a risk of flooded roadways and streams from the coast across the Central Valley and into the Sierra foothills, the risk is expected to be lower than it was in the last storm that led the Russian River to spill over its banks.Winter storms more commonly deliver the heaviest precipitation to the northernmost parts of the region. This system, however, will be focused to the south — around San Francisco and into the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey and Big Sur.While a flood watch was issued for most parts of the Bay Area, “our biggest concern is flooding and landslides in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties and some areas of the South Bay,” said Crystal Oudit, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Monterey.The Sierra Nevada is expected to get a barrage of snow.The storm is on track to bring the biggest snow dump of the winter so far to the Sierra Nevada. Unlike the systems this winter that have delivered a mix of rain and snow, this one is expected to pile up multiple feet of snow.Three to five feet of snow is expected on Donner Pass, one of the most highly traveled passes in the state and a gateway into the Tahoe Basin.Andrew Schwartz, the lead scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, Central Sierra Snow Lab, said the storm would also bring impressive totals to the central and southern portion of the Sierra Nevada that have seen less snowfall than the northern half this winter.“I’m not sure if this will totally get us up to average in those areas, but it should help at least equalize things a little bit,” he said.The northern edge of the storm will brush Oregon and Washington, bringing lower precipitation amounts than in California and delivering a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow.
