Raindrops keep fallin’

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.

“The rain we got was on the heavier side for October,” he said.

“But it happens from time to time.”

Most of the area’s rainfall was concentrated over Costa Mesa,

Vanderburg said.

Costa Mesa got 0.67 of an inch over the weekend, but Newport Beach

got only 0.04, because the storm system weakened by the time it hit

the coast.

The heavy rain will be back tonight and on Wednesday night, with

scattered showers through the days, Vanderburg said. It’s expected to

taper off Thursday.

Temperatures, however, did not get very cool over the weekend, but

that’s about to change in the coming days, he said.

“The next storm we’re going to get mid-week is coming from the

north,” Vanderburg said. “That storm will likely bring colder air

with it, bringing down the temperatures as well.”

The National Weather Service has also issued a flash-flood

advisory, especially near the foothills and creeks, he said.

“Residents living in those areas should be well-prepared,” he

said.

Newport Beach General Services director David Niederhaus said

there was some flooding in West Newport on Sunday.

In May, a deadly combination of high tides and big surf flooded

Balboa Pier area homes and also damaged cars parked in the lots.

General Services workers will be monitoring high tide periods during

the storms, Niederhaus said.

“We’ll be taking covers off the storm drain basins,” he said.

“We’ll be watching the situation closely.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (714) 966-4625.