Mother Nature Fools Residents With Deluge : Storm Catches Family With Its Roof Down

Mel Bennett figured the middle of August was the perfect time to replace the roof on his single-story Huntington Beach house.

“C’mon, it doesn’t rain this time of the year,” Bennett remembers telling himself as workers began removing the aging and cracked shingles last Saturday. “I thought it was a 100-1 long shot.”

Surprise. It rained Tuesday night--a lot. And Bennett and his family spent most of the night hopelessly scrambling to minimize the extensive damage caused by the torrents of water that rained through the partially open roof. Only the sunken living room was spared, thanks to a group effort to dike that end of the house with towels.

Caught Off Guard

Bennett, like thousands of residents across central and western Orange County, was caught off guard by a series of booming thunderstorms that rolled through the area late Tuesday and early Wednesday, dumping heavy rain, knocking out power to more than 40,000 customers and flooding streets.

Scattered power outages from the storms were also reported elsewhere in Southern California and pockets of heavy rain Wednesday morning on Interstate 15 near the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County reduced visibility to several feet, causing a rash of more than 30 minor accidents. There were no deaths.

In Orange County, the rain was over, for the most part, by dawn Wednesday.

But it was replaced by humidity and heat that transplanted residents such as Cathy Turner thought they had left behind.

“I’m from the East, and when I walked out of the courthouse, I thought I was back in Chicago,” the court reporter said as she walked to lunch on Broadway in Santa Ana. “By Midwest standards, it isn’t so bad. But for Californians it’s sticky.”

Forecasters say don’t put the umbrellas away just yet.

The same unstable weather pattern, which is pulling tropical moisture into Southern California and Arizona from Mexico, is expected to be around through Friday when the region should begin drying out.

Temperatures today should climb into the mid- to upper 80s across inland Orange County, although another day of unseasonable humidity will make it seem much warmer, said meteorologist Janice Roth of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for the Times.

Highs along the coast are expected to reach the upper 70s, with a chance of rain across the entire region, Roth said.

The tropical system arrived with a bang late Tuesday night as residents in central and western Orange County were dazzled for several hours by a spectacular lightning show.

Southern California Edison Co. spokesman Gene Carter said power was knocked out to about 40,000 customers in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove and Santa Ana during the morning. But he said most of the outages were of the “flickering light” variety and in most cases service was restored quickly.

About 300 customers, however, remained without power until nightfall Wednesday, Carter said. Utility crews from as far away as Whittier, Covina and Riverside helped with repairs.

Large chunks of the county never had a drop of rain. But where it rained, it rained hard.

The heaviest downpours were in Huntington Beach, where .25 of an inch fell in less than an hour. The system brought the first measurable precipitation of the new weather season, which began July 1.

In La Habra, the rain caused extensive damage to a bowling alley in the 300 block of East Whittier Boulevard. Mike Lee, the city’s senior building inspector, said workers had just begun replacing the roof this week at the La Habra 300 Bowl when the storm struck. Water damage to the carpets and ceiling was widespread, prompting city officials to close the bowling alley for safety reasons for at least a week, Lee said. Sections of the ceiling were so water logged, Lee said, officials feared that it might collapse.

Steamy Work Conditions

For those who had to work in Wednesday’s steamy conditions, the overnight rain would have been a welcome relief.

Jorge Ruiz, a pushcart vendor in downtown Santa Ana who sells fruit cups, was doing a brisk business about noon. But judging by his sweat-soaked headband, the 32-year-old Salvadoran was paying the price.

“The money is good, but I’ve lost 10 pounds walking today,” Ruiz said. “It’s like home, in the tropics. I didn’t like it there, and I don’t like it now. I’m ready for a cerveza .”