Downpours, Gales, 20-Foot Waves - and Blizzards - to Blast California

"It never rains in California," a 70's rock ballad goes. That's basically true, and it makes the state a notorious drought zone - currently the country's worst.

But when it does rain, the song warns: "It pours. Man, it pours!"

And pour it did late Wednesday to the tune of half an inch an hour in parts of the state's north, the National Weather Service said. More to come on Thursday; the Bay Area will brace for two to three inches.

Higher elevations north of San Francisco might get 10 inches of rain, forecasters said. A gushing fit for a tropical island.

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