Bad Hare Day : Easter Showers Dampen Services, Egg Hunts

An unusual spring rainstorm put a damper on traditional Easter sunrise services, egg hunts and picnics Sunday, forcing some Orange County churchgoers to trade their holiday best for raincoats and umbrellas.

“I had a new skirt, a new hat all ready to go, but when I woke up and saw the rain I said ‘forget it,’ ” said Melanie Cooper, 25, of Newport Beach, who instead wore jeans, a sweat shirt and a rain slicker at an Easter morning service at Christ Church by the Sea.

The rainy season was supposed to have ended weeks ago. But the unseasonable storm, coupled with a cold front moving down from Alaska, dropped up to 0.86 inches of rain on parts of Orange County. The temperature plummeted to 39 in Santa Ana, tying a city record set for the date in 1963, according to WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

WeatherData meteorologist Curtis Brack said the low in Santa Ana this morning could dip to 36 degrees, which would break a record of 37 degrees, also set in 1963.

During the 24-hour period ending Sunday at 5 p.m., Anaheim received 0.44 inches of rain and Newport Beach received 0.38 inches of rain. High temperatures in much of the county ranged in the 50s Sunday, with lows in the 40s.

The same weather system is expected to drop more rain on the area Tuesday and Thursday, weather forecasters said.

“At this time of the year you’d expect to be getting into the dry, summertime patterns of mostly sunny skies,” Brack said. “This is an unseasonably late winter storm.”

The weather caused minor street flooding and several traffic accidents, including a nine-car pileup on the southbound Orange Freeway just north of the Garden Grove Freeway about 2:30 p.m. Traffic came to a halt in all lanes of the southbound Orange Freeway, but no serious injuries were reported.

The rains triggered a beach advisory from the Orange County Health Care Agency, which warned swimmers and surfers that bacteria levels are expected to rise in ocean and bay waters due to runoff from storm drains, creeks and river outlets. The bacteria increases can last as long as three days.

Elsewhere in the Southland, the Antelope Valley Freeway was closed for longer than 2 1/2 hours during the middle of the day as road crews scrambled to clear away up to six inches of snow. Snow fell down to the 1,500-foot level in the San Gabriel and Tehachapi mountains, leaving outlying areas from Canyon Country to La Crescenta white.

Icy conditions made driving hazardous on highways leading in and out of Los Angeles. The California Highway Patrol received about 420 reports of traffic accidents or other roadway problems in Los Angeles County, more than three times the number for a typical Sunday, said a CHP spokeswoman.

While the wet, blustery weather played havoc with Easter morning institutions, organizers of the sunrise services at the Hollywood Bowl were thanking their lucky stars. They had already scheduled their event for the Women’s Club of Hollywood because of renovations at the bowl.

But in Orange County, the inclement weather scuttled some traditions that couldn’t be salvaged.

Easter Sunday typically brings throngs of picnickers to Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley and other parks throughout Orange County--crowds so large they sometimes cause patrol problems for law enforcement. But the rain, wind and cold conspired to keep celebrants inside Sunday, law enforcement officials said.

The First Southern Baptist Church’s sunrise service, scheduled at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, also was canceled because of the rain, along with several other services countywide.

The rain let up briefly in some parts of the county--and the sun seemed to struggle through heavy clouds--but scattered showers continued throughout the day.

That didn’t dash spirits on one of Christianity’s most important holidays.

“The rain can’t dampen it. The weather cannot defeat it,” said Rev. David F. Lehmberg, pastor at Christ Church by the Sea, as he asked worshipers to embrace their faith.

“There’s a presence on our side in this continuing battle called life. We are never alone,” he told the crowd that included Cooper and more than 60 others who were mostly casually dressed for the weather.

Lehmberg had planned to hold his sunrise service on the beach near 14th Street along the Balboa Peninsula, just a short distance from the church. But the rain changed that. Lehmberg blamed the weather for the low turnout, adding that last year more than 150 people attended the event.

“But considering the weather, I’m still glad to see so many people here,” he said.

Clutching a pink stuffed bunny, Raini Miller, 25, of Newport Beach, said she was a bit disappointed the weather caused her to miss a sunrise service, especially because she had brought several friends from Redondo Beach and other areas to join her.

But Miller said she was just happy to be spending Easter at Christ Church by the Sea, even though it is not the church she usually attends.

“There’s just something about the people who come here, it makes Easter more special,” she said, adding that the rained-out service gives her something to look forward to. “Maybe next year,” she said.

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Easter Rain An unusual spring rainstorm dropped up to 0.86 inches of rain on parts of Orange County, putting a damper on traditional Easter sunrise services, egg hunts and picnics and forcing some churchgoers to trade their holiday best for raincoats and umbrellas. *Seasonal Total (measured in Santa Ana) 1995 season to date: 24.20 Last year to date: 12.08 Normal rainfall to date: 11.91 *Sunday Storm Santa Ana: .86 Dana Point: .80 Anaheim: .44 Newport Beach: .38 Source: WeatherData Inc.