SeeCalifornia.com

There’s nothing gentle about the weekend El Nino storm hurling its way through California. Ski resorts are urging travelers to begin planning their romantic Valentine’s weekend getaways now as sports enthusiasts will seize the opportunity to use their three-day weekend Feb. 13-15, 2016 (President’s Day national holiday is on Monday, Feb. 15) to get in some serious snowboarding and skiing.

Mammoth Mountain (mammothmountain.com) which typically gets the most snow of any ski resort is touting the snow dump — 24 inches or 2 feet of snow in the current storm (base depth is 90-150″). After several years of drought skiers are stoked.

• Beaches & lakes have a 24-72 hour wait in which you should not go in the water due to storm run-off pollution. Here are 3 tips after it rains to avoid getting sick.
• If you have a fishing trip planned double check before heading out to make sure it’s a go. Rough seas often cancel.
• Desert national park roads are prone to flash floods. Alerts in Death Valley and Joshua Tree are listed on www.nps.gov
• Mountain roads — Chains are required on most mountain roads (except for 4-wheel drive and snow tires).
• Access Real Time traffic information at www.dot.ca.gov