Rains exceed the norm

A storm system that spawned at least one tornado in Orange County, dumped more than 5 inches of rain, packed 40 mph winds and caused a good deal of erosion on Balboa Peninsula was last spotted headed east over California’s Central Coast on Friday.

Good riddance. If there were any bright side to the deluge that darkened the skies and shut off the lights in normally sunny Southern California for a few days, it’s that the underground aquifers that supply Orange County residents with their water inched up just a tad.

Today, there’s only a 20% chance of rain. Sunday, sunny skies are forecast.

But not so fast: Another kinder, gentler storm is expected to hit the region late Monday night, according to the National Weather Service.

“This next storm system isn’t going to be anything like this last storm system we had,” said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard.

According to Newport Beach officials, Back Bay Drive will remain closed until the middle of next week due to the possibility of mudslides.

“It is closed to everyone, which means in addition to no vehicles, there can be no cycling, walking, rollerblading or other recreational activities,” said Tara Finnigan, the city spokeswoman. The road, she added, is closed on both ends, and the large steel pipe gate is padlocked.

“Please help us to warn residents and visitors that they should not go around or over the gates to access the road,” she said.

More than 5 inches of rain was recorded at John Wayne Airport in the last six days, roughly the same amount that normally falls in a six-month period in Orange County. On Monday, 1 inch of rain fell in the span of an hour — “a real deluge,” Kittell said.

On Friday morning, Newport Beach crews were out and about with a few front-loaders, moving dozens of lifeguard stations back 20 feet or so, the result of erosion brought on by the powerful surf and swell. Some of the sand, in fact, is believed to be heading as far as north as Huntington Beach, an example of just how strong the currents have been.

“It’s put us a bit on edge, this storm,” said Jon Mitchell, a lifeguard captain for Newport Beach.

That would be an understatement for the six people who ventured out into Newport Harbor’s entrance channel in a canoe late Thursday afternoon and capsized, only to be rescued by the Orange County Sheriff Harbor Patrol.

“But for the most part, people have been good enough to stay off the jetties,” said sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Ginther. “Sometimes, during storms people like to walk out or fish or observe, and sometimes, unfortunately, they’ll get swept away.”

So far, nobody has died as a result of the rains and high winds, although the inconveniences have been countless — including dozens of motorists who got stuck in high waters and had to be towed out on Costa Mesa’s south side.

“Everything has been quiet so far. Knock on wood,” said Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Victor Bakkila, referring to Friday afternoon’s radio traffic. “The roads have been cleared, and everything has been kind of nice.”