Fierce winter storm that hit West reaches California

SAN FRANCISCO — A winter storm that slammed the western U.S. was barreling through California on Tuesday, bringing threats of flooding, avalanches and blinding, blowing snow on roads in the Sierra Nevada.Heavy rain began falling Monday and the National Weather Service issued flood warnings and flash flood watches for the San Francisco Bay Area and many parts of the Sacramento area into Thursday morning.The latest storm will be a "marathon rather than a sprint," the weather service predicte