Not quite a white Christmas

Lolita Harper

Residents who did not ask Santa for galoshes, a raincoat or umbrella

for Christmas are out of luck, as weather experts predict a large

storm -- dwarfing the sprinkling of Tuesday -- to roll in Thursday.

Noel Isla, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said

Newport-Mesans can expect a half-inch to an inch of rain from a storm

that is moving in from the northwest. Isla said Thursday holds a 60%

to 70% chance of rain, with high temperatures ranging from 58 to 64

degrees.

“The amount of rain we had [Tuesday] has been really light,” Isla

said. “The stronger storm should be arriving Christmas Day.”

The extra precipitation doesn’t bother Valerie Leon, who was

picking up her son from Christian Montessori School in Costa Mesa on

Tuesday. At least the rain gives some inclination of a change in the

season and makes it feel a little more like winter, the Huntington

Beach resident said.

“It’s not a white Christmas but at least there is rain,” Leon

said.

Newport Beach resident Jason Parillo, was not as thrilled about

the expected downpour. Parillo was filling his tank at the Shell gas

station on the corner of Baker Street and Fairview Road in Costa Mesa

in preparation for a Christmas day on the road. He and his girlfriend

will travel from Newport Beach to Villa Park -- to his parent’s house

-- and then to Anaheim to her family’s house, he said.

“It’s just a lot of time on the road,” he said. “Add rain to the

equation and it gets that much better. But nothing can really spoil

Christmas, so it’s not that bad.”

What was bad was the traffic around town and on the freeways.

Although the California Highway Patrol reported no major incidents,

there were the typical fender-benders that seem to increase with the

rain. Another incident was reported at 3 p.m. at Baker Street and

Bear Street. A minor traffic collision was reported at 5 p.m. at the

Bristol Street offramp on the northbound San Diego Freeway.