He and another employee pushed the door shut and locked it, then Ferguson went to check on one of his employees. She was under a desk, surrounded by broken glass, he said. The wind was too much for the business’ front window and shattered it with just sheer pressure, he said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It came and then was just gone instantly. It was calm right after,” Ferguson said.
Public safety officials in Newport-Mesa said there was no major car crashes Tuesday or flooding. The California Highway Patrol has been inundated with accidents since the storms came in, said deputy Denise Quesada. On Jan. 11, there were five crashes on the 73, 55 and 405 freeways in or around Newport-Mesa. On Monday, there were 36, she said. In Orange County, there were more than 300 traffic collisions reported, well more than double the week before, she said.
Officials with the Orange County Sheriff Harbor Patrol said that outside of a few loose boats, weather has not been much of an issue.
School district officials said several schools have reported water damage from Monday’s rain and a few structures built for shade outside had their roofs ripped off because of Tuesday’s wind. Buses were late in dropping off students after school Tuesday, and students were kept inside school while the tornado warning was in effect, said district spokeswoman Laura Boss.
High wind and high surf advisories, with winds gusting up to 45 mph and surf expected to get up to 11 feet with extremely dangerous rip currents, remains in effect for coastal Orange County cities.
According to the National Weather Service, residents can expect more of the same Wednesday afternoon and into Wednesday night. More powerful weather systems will bring rain, 60 mph winds and possibly hail through Friday. Flood, wind, and high surf warnings will remain in effect today.
