Rain falls in Orange County again, skies expected to clear by Sunday

Another rainstorm came through the area Friday evening in what has continued to be the wettest winter in Southern California in recent memory.

In contrast to the heavy rainfall experienced in Central and Northern California, Orange County was expected to receive a relatively modest half an inch to an inch of precipitation between Friday evening and Saturday morning.

Still, that didn’t keep people from worrying about what might come after parts of a bluff collapsed in Newport Beach last weekend and a sinkhole appeared in Laguna Beach on Monday.

A Trader Joe’s employee helps a shopper unload groceries while giving her cover with an umbrella from the rain at Crystal Cove in Newport Beach on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Residents and city officials alike kept an eye out for further losses. As of late Friday afternoon, however, no significant damages had been reported in coastal Orange County.

Other parts of California have been less lucky, with at least one individual reported to have died in Oakland after a roof collapsed at a coffee distribution warehouse Friday.

The National Weather Service has reported that the storms this weekend are to be considered dangerous in much of Central California and a state of emergency was declared by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday to bolster relief efforts in 34 counties up and down the state.

National Weather Service meteorologist Samantha Connolly said a low pressure system is the cause of the rain this time as it draws in moisture from an atmospheric river to the west. It is expected to taper off by Saturday morning, though clouds are not expected to begin to clear up until Sunday afternoon.

Marina High School students wait for the light to cross Edinger Avenue during a downpour on Friday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“Definitely compared to the last few years, it’s been a wet winter,” Connolly said. “We’ve seen a lot of these low pressure systems moving in. We saw a lot of them in January, one in February and as we get into this storm here, it’s ... [been] a very active pattern over the last few months. It’s really a toss of the coin when you look at each individual year because some years can be really dry and some years, wet.”

Winds are expected to be normal and temperatures consistent in the mid-to-low 50s. Connolly noted that Friday’s storm in particular was actually somewhat warm in comparison to those that have swept through the region over the past few months.

In Fullerton, the National Weather Service has recorded about 14.3 inches of rain since Oct. 1, which compares to its typical average of around 9.7 inches. John Wayne Airport, also since Oct. 1, has recorded around 12.5 inches of rainfall this winter as compared to its typical 9.3 inches.

“It’s definitely running above normal so far this year; that’s a really good thing,” Connolly said, adding that another storm is expected to come through next Tuesday and Wednesday on more or less the same scale as the rains this weekend.

Under gray skies, rain pours down at Brooks Street and Coast Highway where a woman is safe under a big umbrella in Laguna Beach on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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