Mother Nature all wet

Andrew Edwards

More rain pounded Newport-Mesa on Tuesday, followed by blue skies and

sunshine -- until the next big burst of showers.

“It’s a pretty strong, cold, unstable storm,” National Weather

Service forecaster Dan Whitlow said.

On land, sporadic downpours drenched the area, while over the

Pacific, a waterspout touched down about 2 p.m. Tuesday some 10 miles

offshore from Newport Beach, Whitlow said.

Waterspouts are tornados that form over water, and the National

Weather Service announced a tornado watch along the California coast

from San Mateo Point to the Mexican border from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Josh Vanegmond said he did not see the

waterspout but recalled a strong gust of wind that powered its way

across the beach at about 2:15 p.m.

Other than that afternoon burst, Vanegmond described weather along

the beach as an alternating series of storms and calm.

“It’s squall line after squall line coming through. It’s a very

unstable atmosphere,” he said.

The rain did not stop surfers from going into the water, Vanegmond

said. Surfers would wait onshore when rain fell and paddle out as

soon as storm clouds moved away from the beach.

The storm has kept boaters on land, however. Doug Turin, owner of

Newport Harbor Boat Rentals, spent his day bailing out his rental

boats and fishing skiffs.

“When it rains hard, I’ve had to bail them out every couple

hours,” Turin said.

Unsafe sea conditions prevented Turin from taking customers on

whale-watching excursions, and members of the Newport Dory Fleet have

been grounded as well.

“It’s been tough here lately. It’s just a day or two here or there

that we’re able to go out,” dory fisherman Steve Escobar said.

On shore in Newport Beach, the rain did not cause any notable

problems, general services director Dave Niederhaus said.

In Costa Mesa, 0.79 inches of rain fell Tuesday, according to the

National Weather Service. Costa Mesa public services director Bill

Morris said the rain has caused several potholes on Costa Mesa roads,

especially 19th Street.

“It’s in real bad shape,” Morris said, adding that the storms have

likely delayed reconstruction work on the street by six to eight

weeks.

The National Weather Service is predicting rain to continue today

with possible thunderstorms. The forecast prompted the U.S.

Geological Survey to extend a landslide warning, issued last week,

through today.

The Newport Coast and Crystal Cove areas are among those included

in the landslide warning, which cautioned that slides could occur if

more than two inches of rain falls on those areas in six hours.

Though Thursday is expected to be a dry day, rain will likely

return by the end of the weekend, Whitlow said. More rain is forecast

to fall from Sunday to Tuesday.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at [email protected].