New Wave of Weather : Strong Surf Stars in Latest Climatic Drama

Ocean waves like falling walls and steamy inland temperatures gave Orange County another weather smorgasbord Friday.

Just one day after a storm that brought spectacular lightning strikes, booming thunder, traffic accidents and spot fires, more dramatics arrived in the form of 10-foot waves crashing at south-facing beaches.

Created by two hurricanes off the Mexican coast, the waves were accompanied by strong rip currents and side currents.

“We’re asking people to use extreme caution,” said Kai Weisser, a Huntington Beach city lifeguard.

One of the most popular surfing spots was at 54th Street in Newport Beach.

“It’s walled,” said Bill Rimmer, 16, of Corona del Mar. His friend, 17-year-old Chris Long, explained for the uninitiated: “That’s when it comes in with one big wave and crashes over. There’s no shape. It’s kind of out of control. It just washes over you, and you feel your sinuses fill with water.”

Newport Beach lifeguard Gordon Reed said the southern swells ranged from 6 to 10 feet for much of the day Friday, diminishing slightly by late afternoon. Reed also said lifeguards rescued some swimmers caught in rip currents, but no injuries were reported.

Although it felt like summer Friday throughout much of Southern California, it was brisk in the water; both Newport Beach and Huntington Beach reported water temperatures of 62 degrees--unusually cold for late September.

“I’m sure it’s just upwelling” of colder water, said Ernest Daghir, an oceanographer for the National Weather Service in Redwood City. Daghir said the cooling was caused by the churning of the waves, propelled in part by surface winds of 15 knots.

As for the booming and sizzling thunderstorms that first struck Thursday afternoon, final rainfall totals confirmed that the squalls had more roar than rain. The Orange County Environmental Management Agency said 0.20 of an inch fell at Santiago Peak on Saddleback, 0.23 fell in Costa Mesa and 0.04 fell in both Mission Viejo and Santa Ana.

Martha Anderson, a resident of the Arch Beach Heights section of Laguna Beach, said she was stunned that parts of her roof and wooden siding were buckled by a lightning bolt that struck about 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

“It sounded like somebody fired a shotgun by my head,” Anderson said. Two telephones in her home were damaged beyond repair by a power surge from the lightning strike.

Daghir said the hurricanes off Mexico will continue to cause high waves but probably will not otherwise affect county’s weekend weather.

Forecasters expect the weekend to be similar to Friday, with the chance of thundershowers confined to mountain and desert areas to the east.

Today, temperatures near 90 degrees are predicted for inland Orange County, with highs in the low 70s on the coast, according to the National Weather Service.

Times Staff Writers Shannon Sands and Len Hall contributed to this report.