Late to the party

James Meier

May flowers can’t be too far away after a cold, slow-moving storm

finally brought an April shower to Newport-Mesa on Monday.

The storm, at first expected late Saturday and then on Sunday,

arrived in the wee hours Monday and stuck around throughout the day,

bringing intermittent downpours.

“It was one of those big complex lows,” said Ivory Small,

meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego. Small

said Newport-Mesa should receive about 1.7 inches of rain through the

end of the storm this morning, though it shouldn’t affect last-minute

tax filers.

John Wayne Airport has received 10.3 inches in the rain season

that began July 1, Small said. That would leave the area on the dry

side of normal, though the totals may near the normal 12.13 inches by

the end of the storm late this morning, he said.

Small said that, as storms go, Monday’s was “between medium and

strong. Kind of on the high end.”

Newport Beach saw a rise in traffic accidents Monday, but it was

typical of any rainy day, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Bill Harper said.

“There have been about 20 so far [at 3 p.m.]. Mostly fender

benders,” he said.

The storm also kicked off spring break for Newport-Mesa Unified

students. The county Health Care Agency urged Monday against hitting

the waves until at least three days after the last drop of rain.

Newport Beach Lifeguards planned spring break staffing long before

the storm was forecast and had enough lifeguards on hand to

accommodate large crowds, none of which were found on Monday.

“Right now, I am sitting here and I don’t know whether I should

staff up or cut down [for the rest of the week],” lifeguard Lt. Jim

Turner said Monday morning.

The mountains, may be a better bet, as forecasters expected

between 8 and 16 inches of new snow, Small said.

Another storm should arrive sometime Thursday and continue into

Friday, though it isn’t expected to provide much of a punch to

Newport-Mesa, Small said. At this point, it’s uncertain whether it’ll

mark the last of the winter storms.

“It’s certainly close to the end [of the winter storms],” he said.

* JAMES MEIER is the city editor. He can be reached at

james.meier@latimes.com.