Snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected to continue pummeling the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic states, while California readies for a storm that could flood areas ravaged by the recent wil

According to David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Portland, after a lull in the precipitation Thursday afternoon, freezing rain is now expected to start Thursday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. That precipitation should start as freezing rain and transition to snow between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. or so, he said.

Southern California could get as much as 6 inches of rain in the mountains and 3 inches in coastal areas and valleys before the system moves out.

Three days of drenching rain, flooding and mudslides have forced evacuations and road closures, including a portion of the Pacific Coast Highway from Malibu and Pacific Palisades. The Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles,