A powerful March storm has been lashing the West Coast with heavy rainfall, gusty winds and snowfall in the mountains –– shifting southward and posing a particular threat to communities scorched by the deadly Los Angeles wildfires from the start of the year.

A powerful storm is dropping drenching rain on flood-prone Southern California and heavy snow on the state’s mountains. It’s the first act of a storm that will unleash a severe thunderstorm outbreak,

A major storm continued to wallop much of Southern California on Thursday morning, bringing evacuation warnings, fears of mudslides and heavy mountain snow.

A strong storm system moving through Los Angeles and Orange counties Thursday is bringing a heavy dose of rain over a short period of time and prompting evacuation orders, flood warnings and road closures.