A Sunny Forecast: The Rain Is Leaving

Sun worshipers rejoice: The wet stuff should be over for a while.

A rapidly weakening Pacific storm that Tuesday brushed Orange County with rain and cold should be well to the east by today, leaving skies mostly sunny.

And the best news, particularly for those feeling a bit pale and housebound, is that the sun is expected to stick around through the weekend.

“It’s shaping up to be the nicest weekend you’ve had in some time,” predicted meteorologist Mike Smith of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. “Looks like lots of sun and warmer temperatures. It’s going to be a real good one.”

Tuesday was anything but pleasant, as rain turned county roads slick and made driving difficult at times. Authorities reported a rash of minor traffic accidents, but there were no serious problems or injuries as the rainfall, for the most part, was gradual.

An Inch Above Normal

By 4 p.m. Tuesday, Newport Beach had recorded .38 of an inch of rain, tops in the county. Elsewhere, San Juan Capistrano received .36 of an inch and El Toro stations recorded .23.

In Santa Ana, .28 of an inch had fallen, bringing the total for the season in the county seat to 5.20 inches--nearly an inch above normal for this time of year.

Daytime high temperatures around the county Tuesday ranged from 54 degrees in El Toro to 65 degrees in Santa Ana.

Highs today should be in the mid 60s and, Smith said, the mercury should reach the low 70s by the weekend. Nights, however, will remain chilly, dipping into the upper 40s in some parts of the county.

Rainfall in Los Angeles on Tuesday was even lighter, with .15 of an inch recorded at the Civic Center by 4 p.m.

Parts of Santa Barbara County received .61 of an inch from late Monday through Tuesday afternoon, with even heavier rain and snow in the mountains.

The storm that swept across the Southland on Tuesday was part of the system that drenched the Hawaiian Islands last weekend, triggering widespread flooding on Oahu.