SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A cold, late-winter Pacific storm brought rain and snow to California on Tuesday.
Winter storm warnings were posted or scheduled to take effect during the day in mountains from the Oregon border south to the U.S-Mexico border.
Mountain travel was discouraged due to the potential for major delays, chain controls and near-whiteout conditions, the National Weather Service said.
The San Francisco Bay Area weather office warned of possible hail, thunderstorms and downpours that could make driving risky.
Early morning lighting was observed offshore west of Pebble Beach.
The storm was expected to begin affecting the southern half of the state Tuesday night and last into Thursday.
California needs all the precipitation it can get after a largely dry winter. The Sierra snowpack was well below average in the most recent survey by the state Department of Water Resources and rain gauges elsewhere haven’t had much to measure.
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