El Niño storms slam drought-parched California

Residents Trina Gonzalez, left, and Todd Peterson stockpile sandbags to protect their homes from the rain in Glendora, Calif., Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. After all the talk, El Nino storms have finally lined up over the Pacific and started soaking drought-parched California with rain expected to last for most of the next two weeks, forecasters said Monday. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Residents Trina Gonzalez, left, and Todd Peterson stockpile sandbags to protect their homes from the rain in Glendora, Calif., Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. After all the talk, El Nino storms have finally lined up over the Pacific and started soaking drought-parched California with rain expected to last for most of the next two weeks, forecasters said Monday. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

By Associated Press January 5, 2016 4 min read

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A strong storm was forecast for Northern California, prompting officials to issue flash flood watches for several rural areas hardly hit by last year’s wildfires.

El Niño storms lined up over the Pacific started soaking California with light rain Monday but a series of stronger systems are expected to arrive starting Tuesday, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash-flood watch for Northern California communities affected by several destructive wildfires last summer and fall.

At least two more storms are expected to follow on Wednesday and Thursday, possibly bringing as much as 3 inches of rain.

As much as 15 inches of rain could fall in the next 16 days in Northern California, with about 2 feet of snow expected in the highest points of the Sierra Nevada, said Johnny Powell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.