Here Comes the Sun . . . : No Precipitation Expected Through Wednesday; Dent in Drought Possible but Too Early to Tell

After a week that began with the season’s heaviest rainfall and ended with a persistent drizzle, the sun is expected to begin drying things out, at least for a few days.

“I don’t see anything coming down to Southern California at all through Wednesday,” said Steve Burback, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times. “It won’t be quite so chilly.”

Friday’s rain capped a week of storms that harried commuters and raised total rainfall above normal levels, raising hope that the state may break a six-year drought in 1993, officials said.

By 6 a.m. Friday, the week’s rain and snowstorms had dropped enough moisture to equal the December seasonal average, said Dee Davis, spokesman for the state’s Drought Information Center.

In November, rain and snow levels in the state were only 20% of normal, but are now slightly ahead of the season average, Davis said.

Despite the latest storm, state officials said it is too early to predict whether California will avoid a drought next year.

“The good news is we are starting early, compared to the last couple of seasons when the storm activity was typically toward the end of the season,” said Gary Hester, chief of forecasting for the state Department of Water Resources. “But it’s still too early to tell for sure what the levels will be on April 1.”

WeatherData reported .29 inches of rain in Santa Ana, and the Environmental Management Agency, which tracks precipitation by computer, detected 0.2 inches near Anaheim Stadium. Still, Friday was wetter than normal. Average rainfall for Santa Ana on Dec. 11 is .04 inches. The record, though, was set in 1906 when Santa Ana was drenched by 2.6 inches of rain.

The coldest place in the county Friday was San Juan Capistrano, where the temperature bottomed out at 44. The hottest spot was Santa Ana, where the mercury reached 68. Most areas saw temperatures in the 50s for most of the day.

Moisture from the recent heavy rains caused an underground cable to fail at 6:54 p.m., cutting off power to several blocks in Costa Mesa and neighboring areas of Newport Beach. About 1,000 businesses and homes were affected, said a spokesman for Southern California Edison Co. By 8:11 p.m., electricity had returned to all but 150 customers, Wilson said.

Burback said Friday’s drizzle was unrelated to the storm that swept through the Southland on Monday, dumping several inches of rain in some areas, closing freeways and leaving massive puddles everywhere. At least one person died in rain-related car accidents during that storm.

Monday’s rain came from a strong low-pressure center moving slowly across the region, while Friday’s was a quick-shifting cold front.

Although the day was dreary, no serious traffic problems were reported in Orange County.

“There was nothing major, just a few accidents related to the rain,” said CHP Officer Bill Wedderburn. “We’ve had a few more accidents than normal, but nothing compared to Monday.”

Snow levels in the mountains fell to about 4,000 feet, weather officials said.

The storm, which moved south from the Gulf of Alaska, struck harder in Northern California, causing some flooding, mudslides and high winds in San Francisco, as well as Sonoma and Santa Clara counties, state weather officials said.