Newport-Mesa just can’t dry out

Marisa O’Neil

It just keeps coming.

Rain -- lots of it -- fell most of the day Friday and will

continue to fall at least until Tuesday.

If a coastal flood warning isn’t enough, how about a gale warning

and high-surf advisory?

All are in effect in Newport-Mesa until Sunday morning, said Brad

Doyle, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. Mountainous

areas also face high wind warnings and all of Southern California is

under a flood watch until Tuesday afternoon, when the latest series

of storms are expected to move on, he said.

The uncharacteristically wet weather has remained in

normally-sunny Southern California off and on for weeks, thanks to a

series of winter storms.

And while it hasn’t caused the flooding that massive rains of the

1998 El Nino did, this season’s weather has caused minor erosion of

beaches and toppled numerous trees, including one that blocked

traffic on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa Friday.

“El Nino rains are real intense,” said Bill Morris, public

services director for Costa Mesa.

“All of a sudden you get localized flooding. With these series of

storms, the ground is close to saturation. It keeps the ground very

soft.

“When you do get a wind, the trees are very susceptible to going

over.”

A large tree blew over Friday afternoon and blocked two northbound

lanes on Newport Boulevard just south of 17th Street before city

crews cut it up and removed it, Morris said.

A second large tree fell over on Baker Street near Labrador Drive

on Friday.

This season’s storms have felled some eight to 10 city trees and

more on private property, Morris said. So far, none has caused

significant property damage, he said.

“If you park your car out in a neighborhood, kind of look around

and don’t park next to a big tree,” he suggested.

“If a significant wind comes up, it could knock a tree down. And

be aware of where you are walking if large gusts comes in.”

The wind blew a large, canvas canopy off the roof of one house and

left it dangling precariously over Mark Ellsworth’s Goldenrod Avenue

home, the Corona del Mar resident said.

Newport Beach has avoided flooded roads despite the massive

amounts of rain that have fallen, said Mike Pisani, deputy general

services director for that city.

“It’s been so steady, our drain systems have handled it with no

street flooding,” he said.

One exception is Back Bay Drive past Newport Dunes, he said.

High tides and plenty of rain have made that bay-side drive a

soggy mess, he said.

City workers have erected a series of sand berms along the beaches

during the past two weeks.

A sand berm near the base of Newport Pier was largely eroded

overnight Thursday, a sign that it’s doing its job of preventing

further erosion and flooding, Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Jim

Turnersaid.

The berms held through high tides, and lifeguards were still on

the lookout Friday afternoon for big surf expected to hit, he said.

A storm that’s headed in from the northwest is meeting up with a

so-called Pineapple Express -- moisture from the central Pacific

Ocean. They are combining to sock the region with this winter

weather, Doyle said.

As of Friday afternoon, nearly two-tenths of an inch of rain had

fallen in Costa Mesa in the most recent storm, according to the

National Weather Service.

The previous storm dumped about an inch of rain over John Wayne

Airport.

The wet weather is expected to last at least until Tuesday, with

high temperatures in the low 60s and lows in the 50s.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618.