Los Angeles ? A powerful storm pounded California for a second day Tuesday, flooding freeways and desert roads, tossing boats ashore and triggering a rockslide that blocked Highway 1 on the central coast.

Two deaths were linked to the storm. One victim was apparently killed as he tried to surf big waves at Montara State Beach south of San Francisco. He was identified late Tuesday night as Scott David Tompkins, formerly of Kansas. Tompkins’ parents live in Overland Park, Kan.

Los Angeles County firefighters Sally Ortega, left, and Eddie Arguelles escort an unidentified woman from her stranded car in Harbor City, Calif. Storms caused fierce flooding in the area Tuesday.

Also, a trucker died in a crash on an interstate north of Los Angeles.

Downtown Los Angeles got a record 3.98 inches of rain by Tuesday afternoon, topping the 2.09 inches set on Dec. 28, 1931.

More heavy weather was on its way, according to forecasters. A potentially stronger system was due to enter northern California late today, bringing heavy snow and high winds to the Sierra Nevada and eastern parts of the state through Friday.

Flash-flood warnings were posted Tuesday in southeastern California for parts of San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties. Authorities reported flooding along highways near Joshua Tree National Park and warned motorists to be alert crossing washes and driving near creeks.

Residents were ordered to evacuate about 50 homes in the San Bernardino County town of Devore, 60 miles east of Los Angeles. A flash flood on Christmas Day 2003 killed 16 people near there.

The Tuesday morning commute was treacherous across Southern California, with hundreds of crashes reported on wet freeways in Los Angeles and San Diego, the state Highway Patrol said.

“We’ve had a lot of fender-benders, a lot of overturned vehicles, and vehicles spinning out and going off the road,” CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos said.