A procession of storms pushing across the Pacific is bringing at least five days of rain and snow to California, a bit of relief for a state sapped by four years of drought.

Light rain began Sunday into Monday, and heavier back-to-back downpours are expected to pulse across the state and even into sections of the southwestern United States through Friday.

Forecasters said most of California will get about an inch of precipitation, a substantial amount for a state of its size, with parts of the southern half receiving as much as six inches.