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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The latest on El Nino storms (all times local):
12:50 p.m.
The National Weather Service is reporting preliminary rain and snowfall totals for California as the week's El Nino-stoked storms start to wind down.
Downtown Los Angeles tallied more than 2.5 inches of rain since Sunday, leaving the drought-stricken city barely more than an inch below normal since the start of the water-year on Oct. 1.
East of Los Angeles, the Mountain High ski area in the San Gabriel Mountains received 20 to 28 inches of snow.
The San Francisco Bay Area received 2.62 inches of rain over three days, while some Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts in the Sierra Nevada reported more than 2 feet of snow since Monday.
The National Park Service says a rock slide Thursday closed a main route to Yosemite.
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10:40 a.m.
The Los Angeles County health officials are advising swimmers and surfers to stay out of the ocean for at least three days because of runoff from a series of El Nino storms.
The ocean-water-quality advisory issued Thursday came as the latest storms moved east after pummeling the region with heavy rainfall.
Bacteria levels can increase significantly during and after rainstorms as contaminants in the runoff enter the ocean via storm drains, creeks and rivers.
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8 a.m.
The latest of several El Nino storms this week is accompanied by battering surf that is flooding some low-lying coastal areas in Southern California.
Big waves at high tide Thursday overtopped the breakwater in Los Angeles County's Redondo Beach and encroached on residential beaches in Malibu. No major damage was reported.
National Weather Service meteorologist Curt Kaplan says waves of 8 to 12 feet are likely, with maximum sets of 16 feet.
High surf warnings for Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties are in effect into Friday.
Thursday's system will bring scattered thunderstorms but not nearly as much rain as previous storms that have pounded the state since Sunday.
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6:40 a.m.
El Nino-fueled storms have brought heavy snow to northern Arizona where Grand Canyon National Park has halted all shuttle bus service.
Park officials said Thursday morning that South Rim roads are snow-packed and icy. Most park facilities on the North Rim are closed for the winter.
To the south in Flagstaff, public schools were closed for a second day Thursday.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for much of northern Arizona through midday Friday due to heavy snowfall — as much as an inch an hour.
Flagstaff had 19 inches of snow on the ground as of Thursday morning, including 4.6 inches fallen since midnight Wednesday. Forecasters said Flagstaff would likely get an additional 9 to 13 inches by midday Friday.
Elsewhere in Arizona, flooding was reported on State Route 88 northeast of Apache Junction.
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6:30 a.m.
The tail-end of a series of El Nino-driven storms is bringing scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms to Southern California along with pounding surf and serious winds.
Forecasters predict significantly less rain Thursday than has pounded the state all week but warn that flash flooding is still possible into the afternoon.
Snow continues to fall in mountain areas and motorists are warned of icy conditions above 4,000 feet, including along the heavily traveled Grapevine section of Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles.
Damaging surf is possible from Ventura County south to Orange County.
California will begin drying out on Friday before another round of light rain moves in over the weekend.
Well over 2 inches of rain fell on several mountain areas Wednesday, including 3.5 inches at the San Gabriel Dam in the Angeles National Forest.
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