Southern California is bracing for heavy rain, gusty winds and cooler temperatures as a Pacific storm, fed by an atmospheric river, moves inland through the region.

A strong atmospheric river moving inland Wednesday night through Friday will bring widespread rain, mountain snow, and gusty winds across California.

Rain in the valley should begin tapering off into scattered showers by Thursday afternoon. This is when the focus of this storm shifts to snowfall in the Sierra by the evening. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for elevations above 5,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada from 1 a.m. Thursday through 4 a.m. Friday.

With an atmospheric river set to arrive in Southern California, precautionary evacuation warnings have been issued in recent wildfire burn areas.

An atmospheric river will hit Southern California this weekend, bringing heavy rain and the threat of flash floods to Los Angeles.

The incoming storm is expected to make landfall in San Diego County late Thursday and clear out by midday Friday.

A couple of storm systems will bring multiple days of heavy rain to California beginning today, lasting through Sunday. The heaviest rain will fall across Northern California Thursday into Friday, shifting south into Southern California,

An atmospheric river barreling toward Southern California this week could bring heavy rain, as well as a risk of flooding and debris flows in recently burned areas.