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LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sunshine and rainbows alternated with thunderclaps, downpours, snow and hail on Monday as the last in a trio of storms broke up over California after flooding roads and homes and trapping people in swamped vehicles.
At least four people died, three were missing and others were rescued from raging floodwaters during the storms.
Anguished relatives gathered along a creek in Alameda County southeast of San Francisco as searchers looked for an 18-year-old woman whose car plunged into the rushing waterway after a collision late Saturday.
Two other people remained missing after being reported in waters off Pebble Beach on Saturday. The search along the Monterey Peninsula was suspended.
In Los Angeles, receding stormwater revealed a body in dense vegetation at a regional park in the Harbor City area. The cause of death was not known, but the Fire Department said the body may be that of a man reported missing Sunday night.
The powerful weekend tempest added to impressive amounts of precipitation that have suddenly arrived in a state after years of withering drought.
By afternoon, downtown Los Angeles had recorded 14.3 inches of rain since the start of the water year on Oct. 1, less than a half-inch away from the average for the entire season.
Heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada triggered an avalanche that shut down a highway just west of Lake Tahoe. Officials warned of continuing avalanche danger at all elevations of the Sierra.