County Piers Unharmed by Heavy Rains, Six-Foot Surf

Orange County is on its way to the wettest February in six years, but the heavy rain and six-foot surf have caused no apparent damage to the county’s beleaguered piers.

Moreover, the storm that may arrive in Orange County today is now expected to be weaker than originally forecast.

The National Weather Service forecast a 70% chance of rain today becoming “briefly heavy” but diminishing on Thursday. Highs are expected to be in the low to middle 60s with the lows tonight in the mid-50s.

County rainfall totals for the first 17 days of February were the heaviest for the month since 1980, but officials said Orange County’s piers escaped damage and flood control channels suffered only some erosion, generally weathering last weekend’s storm.

There were no reports of damage to private property adjacent to flood control channels as a result of the storm, said Bill Reiter, public works operations manager for the county’s Environmental Management Agency.

“The . . . forecasts I’m getting now are backing way off,” Reiter said. “If (the upcoming storm) is an inch (of rain), we should be fine. Friday night we had almost three inches along the coast and four in the (Santa Ana) mountains.

“If we can survive that, we can survive this.”

About 4.64 inches of rain fell in Santa Ana in the four-day period beginning last Thursday, according to Greg Cunningham, hydrographer with the Environmental Management Agency.

For the current year, which for record-keeping purposes began last July, Santa Ana has received 12 inches of rain, compared to 10.44 inches at the same point in the preceding year. Average rainfall for the city has been 8.56 inches by this date, Cunningham said.

Largest Storm Since ’83

In Costa Mesa, rainfall to date has been 9.79 inches, compared to 9.21 inches at the same time last year. Costa Mesa’s average rainfall for this time of year is 7.88 inches, he said.

Last weekend’s rain was the largest storm since March 1, 1983, when 4.37 inches fell in just one 24-hour period, Cunningham said. The 1983 storm delivered a final devastating blow to the Seal Beach Pier, leaving only an island stub standing offshore.

But all of Orange County’s piers, from Seal Beach to San Clemente, weathered the weekend storm without serious damage, according to authorities. Indeed, after being closed earlier this month after heavy surf, about two-thirds of the 660-foot Aliso Pier in South Laguna was open to the public by Tuesday morning, according to Hal Krizan, Orange County director of parks and recreation.

“We don’t expect any property damage from the storm, just inconvenience,” Huntington Beach City Engineer Les Evans said.

Temperatures Tuesday in Santa Ana and El Toro reached a high of 70, with lows in the mid-50s, according to the National Weather Service.

WHAT A WET WEEK

Rainfall during most recent storm (Thursday to Monday) 4.64 in.

Rainfall this month 5.90 in.

Total since July 1 12.0 in.

Total last season to date 10.44 in.

Average season rainfall 8.56 in.

Rainfall figures from Santa Ana Civic Center. Season runs July 1 to June 30.