Rain, no parade

With the rain beginning to fall Friday night, weather experts predicted showers could still come sometime today.

A low-pressure system in the area brings the possibility of slight rain or even a thunderstorm, National Weather Service forecaster Ted MacKechnie said.

Even if it rains, however, it isn’t likely to pour. The most rain to be expected is about a quarter-inch, MacKechnie said.

“This low pressure’s not very moist, so maybe a quarter-inch [would fall] in some places, but it’s not the kind of storm that would put widespread rain in most areas,” he said.

This kind of cold front is normal for this time of year, but it may bring unseasonably low temperatures. MacKechnie said today’s high should be in the 60s, but in past years it has typically been about 71 degrees.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Brent Jacobsen said it sprinkled a little at the beach on Friday, but conditions remained clear — though there were some ominous offshore clouds.

Cooler weather or the threat of rain won’t keep people away from the beach, he said. Jacobsen expected at least 5,000 people to cross the sand in Newport today.

“The only thing that’s going to keep people from coming to the beach is the fact that we don’t have a lot of surf,” he said.