A powerful March storm has been lashing the West Coast with heavy rainfall, gusty winds and snowfall in the mountains –– shifting southward and posing a particular threat to communities scorched by the deadly Los Angeles wildfires from the start of the year.

California braced for the arrival of a massive storm on Wednesday, evacuating residents in areas at risk of mudslides and debris flows.

A strong storm system is expected to “blast through” Los Angeles and Orange County tonight, bringing a heavy dose of rain over a short period of time and prompting evacuation orders, flood warnings and road closures.

Incoming heavy rain from an atmospheric river-fueled storm that slammed into the West Coast early Wednesday is threatening mudslides and debris flows in Southern California and has already prompted evacuations in the Los Angeles area.

An evacuation warning is in place for parts of the Palisades Fire burn zone. The centre-Right Demokraatit Party is celebrating an upset parliamentary election victory in Greenland, after Donald Trump said the US would take control of the island “one way or another”.

Late-winter storms bringing heavy rain, evacuation order and warnings, flood warnings and road closures is in the forecast Wednesday for Los Angeles and Orange counties and is expected to douse the region for the next three days.