Showers Expected to Wash Away Dense Fog

An approaching weekend storm is expected to replace the dense fog that has shrouded Orange County in recent days and forced the closure of John Wayne Airport, stranding scores of travelers because of canceled flights.

The fog was thickest Wednesday night, when John Wayne Airport was shut down from 6:45 to 10:45 p.m., said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elly Brekke.

Fog-related problems at the airport continued Thursday morning, when one flight was canceled and three others were rerouted, according to airline officials. But by Thursday night, operations were back to normal.

But a series of Pacific storms lined up in the Gulf of Alaska is expected to begin sweeping across California, bringing a 30% chance of rain to Orange County today and a 60% chance on Saturday with windy conditions. Rain also is likely on Sunday, both here and in San Francisco, where the Los Angeles Rams meet the San Francisco 49ers for the National Football Conference championship. The wet weather will continue into early next week, forecasters say.

“It does look like we could get some real rain,” said Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

While the weekend storm could cause new travel delays, the promise of measurable rain would be a welcome relief to parched Orange County, experiencing its fourth straight winter of below-average rainfall. Total rainfall for the county since July is 1.04 inches, a third below normal, WeatherData officials said.

Dittmann said a changing weather pattern is the result of a developing onshore flow that should blow away the dense fog that has plagued the area.

Early Thursday, Northwest Airlines reported that its 6:50 a.m. flight to Minneapolis was canceled because of low visibility. An airline spokeswoman said passengers were taken by shuttle bus to Los Angeles International Airport and placed aboard another Minnesota-bound flight.

Three other early-morning flights scheduled to land at John Wayne Airport were rerouted. A Northwest flight from Seattle and a Delta Airlines flight from Tampa, Fla., were diverted to San Diego’s Lindbergh Field, while an American Airlines flight from Oakland landed at Ontario International Airport, where passengers boarded buses and were driven to Orange County.

A total of eight flights bound for John Wayne, including five Wednesday night, were diverted because of fog to other Southern California airports over a two-day period.

Christine Edwards, a spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport, said federal regulations prohibit planes from landing if visibility is less than half a mile, and from taking off if visibility is below a quarter-mile and passengers are on board.

Most passengers who were stranded at John Wayne early Thursday appeared to take the delays in stride.

“I got to read the newspaper for once and relax,” said Beverly Richards, who was booked aboard an early-morning Northwest Airlines flight to the Bay Area. “I would have had to go to work when I got home, anyway. I don’t mind missing that.”

Richards, who had been attending a convention in Orange County, eventually got on a northbound flight that departed John Wayne at 11:15 a.m.

Steve Bauer, a Costa Mesa resident who was on his way back to his Navy post in Jacksonville, Fla., said he was among the lucky passengers who got advance warning of delays and managed to make other travel arrangements.

Bauer was booked to leave from John Wayne Airport early Thursday morning, but changed his plans and left at 11:30 a.m. aboard an America West flight to Los Angeles, where he caught a connecting flight to Florida.

“It was no big deal,” Bauer said. “At least I didn’t have to be here early . . . and wait around.”

Fog-related delays were also reported at Long Beach Airport, where three flights were canceled Thursday morning because of near-zero visibility. The fog also grounded state helicopters scheduled to spray the pesticide malathion Wednesday night over several San Gabriel Valley communities infested with the Mediterranean fruit fly.

While aerial operations were sharply affected by the fog, the weather problems apparently did not hamper motorists. The California Highway Patrol reported no fog-related traffic problems in Orange County on Wednesday night or early Thursday.

Dittmann said the soupy fog that has blanketed the coastline and extended up to 10 miles inland was caused by a combination of a low marine layer and a belt of low-lying warm air.

“With a shallow marine layer and an inversion (a warm air mass) of around 2,000 or 3,000 feet, you’re going to get a squashed layer of clouds that goes down to the surface,” Dittmann said.

The fog was so thick in spots that temperatures varied by as much as 20 degrees in areas of the Los Angeles basin Wednesday, Dittmann said.

Times staff writer Shelby Grad contributed to this story.