Northern California is about to be pounded by an “atmospheric river” expected to soak the region today with 1 to 3 inches of rain and blanket the Sierra Nevada with a blizzard dumping 2 to 5 feet of snow.The heaviest rains should arrive as part of a cold front this afternoon through Thursday morning, bringing wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph in the hills, the risk of small streams flooding, downed trees and possible power outages and prompting flood and mudslide warnings and [...]