California will see widespread rain and heavy Sierra Nevada snowfall through midweek, potentially bringing travel problems and raising the risk of debris flows from wildfire burn scars.
The National Weather Service says the very wet pattern will come from a deep atmospheric fetch of Pacific moisture.
Forecasters say there's a risk of heavy rainfall in northwest California through Tuesday night and then farther south down virtually all of the coastal ranges and some interior sections of the state through Wednesday.
Rainfall amounts could range from 2-4 inches (51-102 millimeters) and snow accumulations in the Sierra could range from 2-4 feet (0.6-1.2 meters).
Caltrans plans to close a section of Highway 1 near Big Sur for 48 hours starting Wednesday morning.
Forecasters also warn of very high surf along the coast.
