A wet and windy holiday

Marisa O’Neil

Locals who dreamed of a white Christmas got a wet one instead.

About a quarter of an inch of rain fell in Newport Beach between

noon Thursday and noon Friday, according to the National Weather

Service. Gusty winds accompanying the storm felled trees in Costa

Mesa and caused some traffic signals to go out, but caused no major

damage.

Peak winds hit John Wayne Airport at about 5 p.m. Thursday with

gusts up to 40 miles per hour, according to the National Weather

Service. Wind speeds tapered off after that, with gusts reaching 17

miles per hour by 11 p.m.

One of the fallen trees was on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa

near the fairgrounds, Costa Mesa Police Lt. Tom Winter said. The wind

also caused an unusually high number of commercial burglar alarms to

go off in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

Some traffic signals in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa went out,

including some on Victoria Street on the Westside, but no power

outages were reported, Winter said. Signals either automatically went

to flashing red, or police put stop signs at those intersections.

The California Highway Patrol did not report any major accidents

in the area, though some vehicles skidded off the roads, Officer

Stacy Willits said.

In Corona del Mar, a tree limb landed on a car, but the stormy

weather didn’t cause any serious problems, said Mike Pisani, deputy

general services director for the city of Newport Beach.

“For the most part there was no significant damage,” Pisani said.

“It’s just a mess that has to be cleaned up -- windblown sand on the

boardwalk and the piers and a lot of leaves on the ground.”

About half a dozen boats broke loose off their moorings in Newport

Harbor, and one ran aground in the cove area near the entrance

channel, said Sgt. Dave Ginther of the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor

Patrol in Newport Beach. And a lifeguard training buoy migrated from

Newport Pier to Balboa Pier.

The weather did not cause any major delays at John Wayne Airport,

spokesman Justin McCusker said.

“From all accounts, it was a smooth-running day,” he said.

Skies should clear up over the weekend, with highs in the mid-60s

and lows in the 30s to 40s and winds to 15 miles per hour.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].