West Coast braces for storms

SAN FRANCISCO — A major storm system is expected to start impacting the western, central and southern United States late Friday and continue through next week, the National Weather Service said.

Heavy rainfall, mountain snow, and strong winds will impact the West Coast and Intermountain West this weekend and early next week. Heavy rainfall and severe weather will be possible in the central and southern U.S. starting on Monday and continue through the rest of the week. Residual river flooding is also possible.

Scattered light showers fell around Northern California early Friday and were expected to continue on and off overnight before becoming steady and heavy through Saturday evening as a strong cold front crosses the region, the NWS San Francisco office said.

Southern California will see rain arrive slightly later than in the north, approaching late Saturday and lasting into early Sunday.

The NWS says a seven-day total could approach 20 inches of rain in Northern California and up to 3 inches in the southern end of the state.

In the northern part of the state, forecasters say that with the rain will be blustery winds, possibly up to 60 mph. The strong winds could bring down trees and power lines leading to power outages.