Storm to be only slight

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach will be spared the brunt of a series of storms set to hit California over the next few days, National Weather Service forecasters said Tuesday.

Most of the storms are centered on Northern California, and only the fringes will cloud Newport-Mesa into the weekend, said meteorologist Steven Vanderburg of the National Weather Service.

Residents can expect a smattering of rain at most this week, Vanderburg said. The storms are moving too fast and are too far away, he said.

“They just don’t look that impressive,” Vanderburg said. “It would have to be raining hard, fast and furious for it to add up. They’re hitting, and they’re gone.”

Lifeguards said surfers aren’t faring much better than the weather. Waves will be only a couple of feet at their peak during the week, and the water won’t get much warmer, they said.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach endured a damp and gray Tuesday, but that seemed to be about it.

City police and fire officials said there were no weather-related accidents or emergencies.

Inland Orange County will receive most of the area’s rain, Vanderburg said.

The rain doesn’t pose any risk of landslides to the Santiago Canyon area, the hills denuded by widespread fires last year, Orange County Fire Authority officials said.

“We are always concerned, but there’s a whole gamut of agencies watching the situation,” Capt. Michael Blawn said.

“Specifically with these rainfall amounts right now, unless they increase then there’s not an immediate worry.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].