Strongest rainstorm so far this season left Orange County unscathed; more rain may be on its way

While other parts of California saw substantial downpour from the slow-moving storm that crossed the state this week, Orange County largely escaped the brunt of it, weather officials said.

The winter storm, which brought with it lightning, was caused by a low-pressure storm system off of San Francisco Bay Area that made its way south. Locally, it left the greatest impact on coastal Huntington Beach, where rainfall records indicate 1.81 inches fell over four days. In Laguna Beach, rainfall records reflected about 1.19 inches and, in Anaheim, about 1.42 inches had fallen through Friday morning. Meteorologist Stephanie Sullivan at the National Weather Service in San Diego said wind speeds reached highs of 15 to 25 mph.

Clouds form over the hills in Newport Coast along Coast Highway in Newport Beach on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Winds climbed to around 30 mph in the canyons near the Santa Ana Mountains, according to Sullivan.

“We’ve had some other weaker storms, but this was definitely the strongest one so far [this season],” Sullivan said. “Typically, December is when we start to get into the wetter part of the season, but it does vary. Some years, we see it a lot earlier in like October or November, but December is when we would start to see these stronger storms.”

In terms of total rainfall, Sullivan said not much stuck out this week for Orange County, but what was notable was the sheer number of lightning strikes that occurred just off the Southern California coast. In San Diego County, for example, she said 133 strikes were reported just off its coast in 24 hours alone.

A beachgoer walks in the sand at Main Beach Park as rain begins to fall in Laguna Beach on Friday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

While the weather does appear to be clearing up just in time for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Sullivan said current forecasts indicate a possibility of some isolated showers into Saturday and potentially on Thursday or Friday of next week.