Untimely Rain Surprises O.C., Makes History

A very unusual event--rain in July--caused some Monday morning gee-whizzes as well as traffic snarls and a rash of minor accidents on Orange County’s freeways.

The light rain, which caught a drought-parched Southern California by surprise, was also historic: It was the first measurable precipitation on a July 8 in Orange County since 1944.

“This rain is confusing me a little bit,” said Lt. Richard J. Olson, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department. “I’ve been in Fort Collins, Colo., for the past five days--and you expect to get thundershowers up there--but there wasn’t any rain while I was there. Then, I come home to Orange County, and here it is raining. And I’m not sure why.”

Weather experts said the rain was not caused by atmospheric changes after the recent volcanic eruptions in Japan and the Philippines.

Rather, they said, an upper atmosphere storm system that quickly moved north from Mexico into Southern California triggered the unusual rain. That atmospheric condition moved eastward from Orange County on Monday afternoon, and forecasters said there will be no more rain today--or in the immediate future.

Monday’s rain in some areas was so light it could not be measured. But meteorologists said it was enough to make this month one of the wettest Julys since 1877, when local weather records were first kept.

But according to Orange County historian Jim Sleeper, in his “Orange County Almanac,” Fullerton received .43 of an inch of rain on July 8, 1944.

By a statistical oddity, Monday’s rainfall became the first of “the season.” Rain years start on July 1. The 1991-92 rain season thus got a much earlier than usual start. In most years, the first seasonal rain does not occur until September or later.

According to the county’s Environmental Management Agency, Brea got the most precipitation in the county, with a total of .16 of an inch. Orange and Modjeska Canyon received .12 of an inch each. Other areas of the county got less than a 10th of an inch, ranging from .02 of an inch in Santa Ana to .04 in Westminster, Fullerton, and Huntington Beach. Many cities, including El Toro, received only trace amounts of rain, county officials said.

While small in amount, the rain did not lack for admirers.

“In Southern California, any rain is of some help because it preserves moisture,” said Bill Miller, Orange County deputy agricultural commissioner. “Also, even a light rain like this benefits growing things by cleaning the dust off their leaves and letting them breathe better.”

Miller emphasized that the very light rain is of no big help in easing the state’s five-year drought. But, he added, the gentle, unexpected rain nonetheless has some short-term water-saving benefits.

“Psychologically, many people will be persuaded not to water their lawns for a while now,” Miller said. “They’ll postpone that use of water for a few days.”

Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department also saw benefit from Monday’s surprise weather.

“It brought a smile to my face to hear about the heavy humidity out there,” Young said. “When you have something like that, you don’t have fires spreading as quickly. We had three (brush) fires in the county Monday and they didn’t spread very much and were easy to put out because of the high humidity.”

Young said the three fires, each involving less than an acre, were in Bee Canyon, north of the El Toro Marine base, San Juan Capistrano and Mission Viejo. All were quickly extinguished, Young said--thanks to the rain and accompanying humidity.

“The rain helped today, but it won’t have a long-term effect,” Young said. Still, he added, every little bit of help from Mother Nature is appreciated by firefighters.

“Strange as it may seem, we like it when it’s very humid and uncomfortable, because that’s when it’s easier to keep fires under control.”

The rain did dampen some spirits--particularly for commuters and those hoping to catch some early morning sunshine along the county’s beaches.

The California Highway Patrol said there were about 40 minor traffic accidents reported on Orange County’s freeways--about triple the number on a normal day.

“It was raining on the beach when I came to work about 8 o’clock this morning, and it kept on until about 10 o’clock,” said Lt. Steve Davidson, a marine safety officer with the Huntington Beach city lifeguards. “Even after it stopped raining, it was overcast most of the day, so we sent half our lifeguards home early. . . . I’d say this was about the biggest non-beach day in a long time.”

The rain, however, did not deter many people from other summer activities, including going to local amusement parks. Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm reported no decrease in crowds Monday.

“It definitely did rain here, but by 9 o’clock it was gone,” said Jonna Bartges, spokeswoman for Disneyland. “It stayed cooler during the day and that was nice for people in lines.”

Three rides--Alice in Wonderland, the Teacups and the People Mover--were closed because of the rain until about 10 a.m., then were reopened, Bartges said. Crowds were normal size for the day, she added.

At Knott’s Berry Farm, spokesman Stuart Zanville said, “All we really had were very light sprinkles.” He said the crowds never were fazed by the brief moisture.

People elsewhere in Southern California also seemed to take the rain in stride.

At a bus stop in downtown Los Angeles, an El Monte woman positioned herself under an umbrella and out of the splash range of RTD buses traveling through flooded gutters along Spring Street. “Who’d expect rain in July? In the middle of a drought?” she asked.

In Playa del Rey, conservationists Brenda Goeden and Joe Crocker huddled under an environmental poster to keep dry as they attended an outdoor press conference that unveiled ideas for cleaning up the Santa Monica Bay.

In Los Angeles, meantime, the rain prompted county health officials to issue an immediate suggestion of their own: Swimmers and beach-goers, they said, should stay away from storm drains emptying into the bay once sunny weather returns.

Some tourists saw no silver lining in the rain.

“It’s just our bad luck,” shrugged visitor Sylke Van Der Hayden of Antwerp, Belgium, as she strolled though the fog-shrouded Hollywood Bowl and shook puddles of water off its green canvas seats.

Heat and sunshine are what they came for, said her companion, Frederic Laurent. “It’s exceptional for us to have good weather in Belgium. For our trip, all we brought were T-shirts,” he said.

Times staff writer Bob Pool contributed to this report.

Dry Skies in July--Usually

July is Orange County’s driest month, nearly always without rainfall. Measurable rainfall usually returns to the county in mid-August.

The 0.02 inch recorded Monday in Santa Ana* gives the county a minuscule head start toward reaching its normal annual rainfall average of 12.96 inches. The new rainfall season began July 1.

Last season, Orange County received 7.69 inches, just more than half its average rainfall. So far, the state has suffered through five years of drought.

The rain Monday was the first to be recorded in Santa Ana for a July 8 since 1908, when such record keeping began. Jim Sleeper’s Orange County almanac, however, lists Fullerton as having received 0.43 inch on that date in 1944.

* County average annual rainfall is calculated based on Santa Ana figures from 1908 to 1985

Rainfall in the County (inches)

Brea: 0.16

Cypress: 0.08

Fullerton: 0.04

Huntington Beach: 0.04

Modjeska Canyon: 0.12

Orange: 0.12

Santa Ana: 0.02

Westminster: 0.04

NOTE: From 8 a.m. Sunday to 4 p.m. Monday.

Source: Orange County Environmental Management Agency; WeatherData, Inc.