Rainfall

Local police departments reported a quiet weekend Sunday, after a projected storm pattern didn’t pack quite the punch forecasters expected. “There’s been nothing serious as of yet,” Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Everett said. Newport Beach reported some “very minor” traffic accidents, but nothing significant, police said. According to the N ational Weather Service, the total rainfall in the Newport-Mesa area reached 1.14 inches by 9 p.m. Sunday — minimal compared to the 2 to 5 inches received in other parts of Orange County.

Deepa Bharath The Newport-Mesa area, like the rest of Orange County, can expect rain today through Tuesday, meteorologists say. A series of low pressure areas are expected to move from off the Southern California coast through Tuesday, said Brad Boyle, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. "It will remain mostly cloudy through the weekend," he said. "We'll also get showers on and off." The rain, though unseasonable this late in spring, is quite welcome, Doyle said.

Carry your umbrella this morning, but you can put it away by the afternoon. Rain that began Tuesday in Newport-Mesa is expected to clear up later today, and no more precipitation is expected this week, Noel Isla, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said. The average rainfall for coastal Orange County in January is about 2.5 inches, and only 0.04 of an inch had fallen here as of Tuesday afternoon. That's after the rainy season — December through April — was already off to a dry start, with less-than-average rainfall last month, Isla said.

Greg Risling One could say Orange County is inching its way to yearly average rainfall totals after another storm moved through the area Thursday. The storm dropped a small amount of rain Wednesday night and into Thursday. The National Weather Service reported about .10 of an inch rain at John Wayne Airport, although many residents were drenched by a torrential downpour midafternoon Thursday. "It proves you better have a jacket during the winter, even if you are living in sunny California," said James Nevins, who was soaked sitting at a bus stop on Newport Boulevard.

The clouds opened over Newport-Mesa late Friday night and continued off and on through Saturday, as Orange County enjoyed its first significant rainfall in nearly two years. In the 24-hour period leading up to 8 a.m. Saturday, Costa Mesa collected 0.67 inches of rain and Corona del Mar 0.71 inches, according to the Orange County Watershed and Coastal Resources Division. The division did not have a listing for Newport Beach as a whole. Jon Lewengrub, an environmental resource specialist for the division, said the storm was Orange County’s first rainfall since April 23 and its largest since Feb. 28, 2006.

The rains came. And they came. As the county was pounded for most of Monday with rainfall, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa didn't feel the brunt of the storm's force. For the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Monday, Newport Beach received 0.27 inches of rain. John Wayne Airport, at the Costa Mesa border, received 0.77 inches for the same period, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. The rainfall numbers were lighter that other county cities, such as Anaheim.

Andrew Edwards National Weather Service meteorologists predicted that more rain will douse Newport-Mesa through Thursday, but local officials are not worried that forecasts herald another major storm. Preliminary rainfall estimates indicate 1 to 3 more inches of rain will fall around the John Wayne Airport area, forecaster Stan Wasowski said. The first wave of the rain was expected to be heaviest Tuesday night and then calm down today. "It should go into shower mode as we get into Wednesday," Wasowski said.

Greg Risling It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing as a slow-moving storm passed through Orange County on Tuesday, dropping less than half an inch of rain. Tuesday's wet weather was just the third time in the last seven months that Orange County has seen significant rainfall. Winter is winding down and county totals are far lower than normal. According to statistics provided by the National Weather Service, a little more than an inch of rain has fallen at John Wayne Airport since July.

Deepa Bharath The mid-winter-like storm system, which dumped close to an inch of rainfall over the weekend, is likely to strengthen and produce more rain over the next two days, forecasters said on Monday. Between Sunday and Monday nights, Costa Mesa got 0.17 inches and Newport Beach got 0.08 inches, including a strong downpour Monday afternoon. And that was after an already wet weekend. John Wayne Airport recorded rainfall of 0.82 of an inch as of Sunday evening, a rare occurrence this time of the year, said Steven Vanderburg, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego.

As the region prepares for storm season, scientists are predicting another year of La Niña weather patterns, which typically cause a colder and drier winter than usual. Caused by cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, La Niña recurs every few years. Last year was a La Niña season as well, and although it didn't rain consistently, when it rained it poured, said William Patzert, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory oceanographer and climate forecaster. "Here in Southern California, after two weeks in December, my forecast was already busted," Patzert said.

NEWPORT BEACH — When you mix a high tide with the most rain in recent memory, there's bound to be problems. Newport Beach city crews scrambled from dawn to dusk Wednesday, clearing debris from 20 trees that had been blown down overnight, pumping water from the flooded Balboa Peninsula and nearby islands and restoring power to thousands of residents. The sixth consecutive day of rain in Orange County was compounded by a 6-and-a-1/2-foot tide that overwhelmed bulkheads on Newport Island and Balboa Island, city officials said.

Corona del Mar High boys’ soccer coach George Larsen hoped for showers this week. The rain has come at a good time for the injured Sea Kings. The team ranked No. 7 in the nation by ESPN RISE is trying to get healthy after dropping its first match of the season Friday, a 1-0 loss in double overtime at home to defending Pacific Coast League champion University. If the rain continues, CdM (12-1-1, 1-1-1 in league) might have to cancel its league match at San Juan Hills Wednesday and the one at home against Beckman Friday due to poor field conditions.

After a day of reprieve, the winter storms covering Southern California lashed Newport-Mesa once again throughout Wednesday. While few major problems were reported on land, the National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory on the ocean, with winds expected to gust up to 45 miles per hour. Because of those conditions, the opening night of the 100th Annual Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade was canceled. According to the National Weather Service, Costa Mesa saw 0.51 inches of rainfall from 5 p.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Wednesday.

BEIJING — Rain served as the backdrop for the gold-medal match in women’s beach volleyball Thursday morning at the Beijing Olympics. But it was reign that proved primary and was assuredly evident when the American duo of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won their second consecutive gold. May-Treanor, a former Newport Harbor High standout, along with Walsh celebrated enthusiastically after beating Wang Jie and Tian Jia of China 21-18, 21-18. May-Treanor and Walsh extended their winning streak to 108 matches.

Local police departments reported a quiet weekend Sunday, after a projected storm pattern didn’t pack quite the punch forecasters expected. “There’s been nothing serious as of yet,” Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Everett said. Newport Beach reported some “very minor” traffic accidents, but nothing significant, police said. According to the N ational Weather Service, the total rainfall in the Newport-Mesa area reached 1.14 inches by 9 p.m. Sunday — minimal compared to the 2 to 5 inches received in other parts of Orange County.

A strong chance of rain is predicted for Orange County starting tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Projections include a small amount of rain today, with strong winds and a 90% expectation of heavy rainfall Friday through Saturday. Areas in Orange County that were affected by recent wildfires are on alert for mudslides. Lifeguards may also have their hands full as winds could bring some of the biggest swells in recent months, according to Brian O’Rourke of the Newport Beach Ocean Lifeguards.

Newport-Mesa’s water districts are offering a deal to businesses during California’s ongoing drought: You save us water and we’ll save you money. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced last week that it would have to reduce water shipments and increase prices in response to the scant rainfall of the last two years. Even before the announcement, the Irvine Ranch and Mesa Consolidated water districts had been urging retailers and residential complexes to conserve through industrial surveys, free products and rebates.

The clouds opened over Newport-Mesa late Friday night and continued off and on through Saturday, as Orange County enjoyed its first significant rainfall in nearly two years. In the 24-hour period leading up to 8 a.m. Saturday, Costa Mesa collected 0.67 inches of rain and Corona del Mar 0.71 inches, according to the Orange County Watershed and Coastal Resources Division. The division did not have a listing for Newport Beach as a whole. Jon Lewengrub, an environmental resource specialist for the division, said the storm was Orange County’s first rainfall since April 23 and its largest since Feb. 28, 2006.