Rainy daze in the city

The cold rainstorm that hit Newport-Mesa on Friday might be a sign of things to come.

Although the rain will clear out for the weekend, a drop in temperatures is expected next week, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Friday.

More than one-quarter inch of rain was reported in Newport Beach and wind gusts between 10 and 15 mph were recorded in Newport-Mesa on Friday. A low of 52 degrees was reported at John Wayne Airport, said meteorologist Steve Vanderburg.

“It’s pretty much on its way out already,” Vanderburg said of the rainy weather.

Dry weather, with temperatures in the 60s, is expected through the weekend, Vanderburg said.

Newport Beach lifeguards reported that the weather made for empty beaches Friday. The “small and junky” surf and periodic rain kept surfers out of the water near the Newport Pier, said Lifeguard Lt. Mike Halphide.

The bursts of rain, which left puddles of water on some local roadways, may have been responsible for a single-car accident in Newport Beach, police said.

A 21-year-old Newport Beach man suffered minor injuries when he lost control of a Cadillac heading northbound on Jamboree Road near the Back Bay. The car hit the raised center divider and crossed the median. Firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut the top off the car and remove the driver.

The accident could have been much worse, said traffic investigator Jerry White.

The driver told police that he saw some water on the roadway and the next thing he knew he was spinning out of control, White said.

It had just finished raining when the accident occurred after noon Friday and it’s likely the car hydroplaned, White said.

Rain makes the roadways slick and almost always means an increase in weather-related traffic accidents, said Highway Patrol Officer Scott Helberg.dpt.04-crash-CPhotoInfoAO1OK0MJ20060304ivl0oskn(LA)A Cadillac waits to be towed from Jamboree Road, where it crashed into the median. The driver had minor injuries. dpt.04-rain-1-CPhotoInfoAO1OK0M520060304ivl0ppknPHOTOS BY DON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)Dark clouds and wind don’t stop a fisherman from trying his luck at the end of Newport Pier as a storm passed over the coast.dpt.04-rain-2-BPhotoInfoAO1OK0NP20060304ivl0q6knDON LEACH / DAILY PILOT(LA)William MacAulay and his daughter Adrian, of Tucson, Ariz., get caught in a downpour on Newport Pier