Wet for a change

June Casagrande

Unseasonable surf and dangerous driving conditions blew into the

area as part of a storm system that doused Southern California on

Tuesday.

And there’s plenty more to come, said Stan Wasowski of the

National Weather Service. Rain and showers that arrived Monday night

from the central Pacific Ocean will continue to fall on Newport-Mesa

through today and possibly into Thursday and even early Friday.

Rain refers to steady downpours whereas the term showers describes

intermittent downpours, Wasowski explained.

“What we’re seeing now is just normal winter weather, bringing up

moisture from the southwest of Baja California,” Wasowski said.

“January, February and March is when we get the majority of our

rain.”

If the conditions seem extraordinary, it’s because this January

was unusually dry -- the fifth driest January on record, Wasowski

said.

The benefit of the rain, for some, was that it turned a bad

surfing day into a good one. Relatively still waters in the morning

off Newport Beach gave way to increasing waves by midday, with

corresponding increases in the number of surfers.

“Word’s been getting out and the number of surfers out here has

been doubling about every half hour,” Lifeguard Lt. Mike Halphides

said at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Southerly surf, unusual in winters when

by waves usually come from the north or northwest, produced 4- to

6-foot waves near the Newport Pier, Halphides said.

“The surf today looks like it usually does in the summer rather

than the winter,” Halphides said.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.