Rain May Pay an Unusual Holiday Visit

If you’re going to the beach or the park this morning, you may want to bring an umbrella.

Weather forecasters say there is a chance of rain--a very unusual thing for this late in the season in Orange County. The rain, if it comes, will be light and most likely gone by afternoon, according to the forecasters. But they added that it will be cool and cloudy throughout most of the daylight hours this Memorial Day, even if the rain doesn’t materialize.

“There’s a vigorous cold front pushing down into Orange County,” said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides weather information for The Times. “It’s causing something like a wintertime storm--something unusual for this time of year. It could cause some rain (in Orange County), but it will just be light showers, and there will be pretty much clearing by afternoon.”

Burback said the root of the unusual weather is a high pressure area over Canada. That high pressure area, he said, was strong enough to trigger storms and rain on Sunday over much of Northern and Central California. Burback said some parts of the San Francisco Bay area got as much as 2 1/2 inches of rain on Sunday.

The remnants of the rainstorms were pushed overnight into Southern California, Burback said. The cold front also brings with it some coolish temperatures, with the high today in Orange County to be in the mid- to high 60s, Burback added. There is also a prediction of strong breezes and cloudy skies, he said.

By Tuesday, the weather is expected to be slightly warmer, with sunny skies.