Weathering storm

Despite what was billed as potentially the worst storm yet, Newport-Mesa was mostly unscathed Wednesday by the rain and wind that had caused so many problems the previous two days.

California Highway Patrol officials said there were still more crashes — mostly minor spin-outs — on county freeways than normal, but there were few major accidents and none in Costa Mesa or Newport Beach.

Police and fire officials in both cities said Wednesday was uneventful compared with earlier in the week. But it wasn’t without its moments.

Newport Beach police on Wednesday closed the southbound lane of West Balboa Boulevard at 14th Street while workers removed a roughly 25-foot-tall church tower that was in danger of snapping and falling into the street, city officials said.

The metal, three-legged tower sat on the corner of Christ Church by the Sea’s Balboa Peninsula campus and was topped with a cross.

One of the tower’s legs came loose Wednesday morning after high winds helped shear off its bolts, the Rev. Holly Reinhart-Marean of Christ Church by the Sea said.

The tower was leaning over West Balboa Boulevard at a 75-degree angle in the morning, said Newport Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Gamble said.

The church hired a private demolition crew to take down the tower while the street was closed down, Gamble said.

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Mark Manley said Arlington Drive on the north end of the fairgrounds was flooded and shut down.

Laura Boss, a spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, said schools continue to deal with standing water and flooding issues from earlier in the week.

Orange County Sheriff Harbor Patrol officials said that Newport Harbor was keeping them extremely busy with boats being ripped from their moorings because of the wind, but outside of that, it was routine.

Residents should expect another, cold, windy, soggy day today and into Friday.

The National Weather Service said coastal cities can expect winds up to 50 mph and possibly tornado-forming conditions similar to Tuesday.

A chance of coastal flooding is highly possible today because of runoff from the rain, high 15- to 20-foot surf and an especially high tide, according to the weather service.

Even the strongest swimmers should avoid the current rip tide, according to the high surf advisory that looks to be in effect until Sunday.