Storm Shows Off : Weather: Waterspouts afford spectacular view along the coast as system passes through. There’s a slight chance of rain again Thursday.

The tail end of a storm system that passed through Orange County on Tuesday created unusual waterspouts off the coast of Newport Beach, giving observers along a bluff in Corona del Mar a spectacular view of one 1,500-foot funnel cloud.

“You could see water flying all around,” said Marine Safety Officer Gordon Reed.

Others along a bluff in Corona del Mar watched as the larger of two waterspouts danced above the ocean’s surface shortly after noon.

“You could see the water swirling and being pulled up into the clouds. A sailboat was real close to it, and we thought it would get blown away,” said Roger Muscente, 31, of Mission Viejo, a real estate appraiser who shot pictures of the 1,500-foot funnel cloud. Neither waterspout touched land, and no damage was reported.

Typically described as an “ocean tornado,” a waterspout is a spinning funnel of air that picks up water. It is, however, usually weaker in velocity than a land tornado.

Meteorologists believe the two waterspouts formed from the leftover energy of a storm system that was moving through Southern California and passed through Orange County late Monday night.

“Usually, there’s instability behind a cold front, and all the moisture, clouds and upper level energy from the jet stream can form waterspouts,” said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist at WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

The 1,500-foot waterspout was spotted half a mile offshore of Newport Beach’s jetty entrance by marine safety officials at 12:10 p.m. It lasted for about 15 minutes. The second spout was smaller and formed closer to Laguna Beach shortly after the first.

“We see spouts once every couple years,” Reed said. “The one we saw today was spectacular because it was well-defined from what I’ve seen over the last 25 years.”

Michael Buechi and another friend were with Muscente on their way to lunch when they spotted the waterspout and pulled their car over to watch from a nearby bluff.

“Elegant is probably the best way to describe the waterspout,” said Buechi, 33, of Mission Viejo. “The bluff was the closest spot you could be to that funnel unless you were in a boat.”

About 15 other observers on the bluff watched as the spout crept closer to three boats, but dissipated before directly crossing their paths, said Buechi.

Waterspouts usually create high waves within a half-mile radius of their funnels.

The spouts last only a few minutes and are rare, with only five to 10 forming along the Southern California coast each year, said Brack.

Elsewhere in Orange County, Monday night’s showers dumped nearly half an inch of rain in some parts and created slick roadways for Tuesday morning’s commute, with a higher than normal number of traffic accidents reported by the California Highway Patrol.

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“We had an unusual amount of accidents between 6 and 7 a.m.,” said CHP Officer Kari Keul in Santa Ana. “Obviously, oil and water don’t mix, but motorists just need to decrease their speeds when it rains because it’s going to take longer to stop when the road is wet as opposed to dry.”

Westminster CHP officers also responded to a number of accidents during their normally quiet period of the night.

“We had four collisions right after midnight,” said CHP Officer K. Canzano. “And while I can’t tell you if it can be blamed on the rain, that’s an unusual amount, so I can imagine the rain had something to do with it.”

The cold front that brought Monday night’s showers came from the Gulf of Alaska and headed toward San Diego late Tuesday. The showers began about 11 p.m. Monday and ended about 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Between 8 a.m Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday Santa Ana received .31 inches of rain; Villa Park Dam .24 inches; Santiago Peak .43 inches; and Costa Mesa .24 inches.

Forecasters predict today will be partly cloudy, with cool temperatures and no rainfall. Thursday will be partly cloudy with a 10% to 20% chance of rain. Skies will clear up Friday, with warmer temperatures in the upper 60s and sunny skies expected for the weekend.

Highs through Friday will be in the upper 50s to mid-60s. Coastal areas should expect temperatures in the upper 50s to mid-60s, inland valleys will be in the upper 50s, and areas in upper elevations should expect temperatures in the 40s.

On the coast, five-foot swells and one- to three-foot waves are expected, with west to southwesterly winds at 5 to 15 m.p.h.