Rain May Be Precursor to a Bigger Storm : Weather: About .16 of an inch of rain is reported in North County, with lesser amounts elsewhere. Laguna area is bracing for new round of precipitation.

The brief but cold rainstorm that moved through Orange County on Tuesday could be upstaged by a much larger storm this weekend, weather experts said.

A storm system forming off the Southern California coast could deliver rain by Saturday or Sunday, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which forecasts weather for The Times. And this one, he said, will be nastier.

Tuesday’s “storm was just crossing through California, while the one for the weekend will be cut off from the jet stream, and it usually takes a fairly strong and large storm to develop like that,” he said. “In addition, the next storm will be a slower-moving storm, with the capability of producing more rain.”

Tuesday’s afternoon rain and cold, blustery winds brought up to .16 of an inch of rain in north Orange County, caused numerous traffic accidents, and may have been responsible a power outage in Costa Mesa.

Laguna Beach fire Capt. Bob Scruggs said rain was steady for about three hours, and water has flowed through the canyon areas where 366 homes were destroyed in a two-day fire in October that charred 16,682 acres.

“We’ve been preparing for the last month,” Scruggs said, adding that Marines have placed hay bales and sandbags in steep terrain.

Terry Brandt, Laguna Beach director of municipal services, said city officials will now focus their attention on the weekend’s anticipated storm.

Tuesday’s rain caused a truck to skid and jackknife on the westbound Riverside Freeway about 6:40 p.m. near Coal Canyon Road, coming to rest near the center divider. No one was injured, but traffic was snarled, the California Highway Patrol said.

A power outage in Costa Mesa left 2,350 Southern California Edison Co. customers without power for several hours. The equipment breakdown may have been caused by the rain and wind, an Edison spokesman said.

The outage occurred at 4:41 p.m. and was restored by 6:30 p.m., the spokesman said.

The storm brought a significant amount of rain to Northern California and snow to the Sierra. The cold front from the Gulf of Alaska lowered snow levels in the Tehachapis, the San Gabriels and mountains of Santa Barbara County to 3,500 to 4,000 feet.

Brea had .16 of an inch of rain; Santa Ana, Irvine and Huntington Beach .12 of an inch; and Newport Beach .04, said Bryan Pastor, a spokesman for the county’s Environmental Management Agency.

As of Sunday, the year’s total rainfall in the county was 1.14 inches for Santa Ana, compared to 4.59 inches last year at this time. The average rainfall for this time of year is 2.73 inches.

It is expected to be breezy today with clearing skies and cooler temperatures, Brack said. The high Tuesday was 65 degrees in Santa Ana, and in the low 60s along the coast.