County Will Be Riding a Cold Wave This Week

Low temperatures left Orange County residents reaching for an extra sweater Monday, while a storm front courtesy of Canada resulted in a rare dusting of snow in the mountain areas and slick road conditions that frustrated morning commuters.

Ortega Highway, a key route between Riverside and Orange counties, was closed for several hours Monday morning because of ice and snow, and officials warned that commuters may find themselves facing similar conditions in the morning hours until the cold front lets up later this week.

Overnight temperatures dropped to a bone-chilling 38 degrees in Anaheim and a daytime high of 57 degrees was reported in Santa Ana, said meteorologist Robb Kaczmarek of WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

Today is expected to be partly cloudy with highs in the mid- to upper 50s. Rain is expected again Wednesday and over the weekend, according to the weather forecast.

Three Fullerton teens who decided to rough it last weekend didn’t have to look at a forecast to find out it was cold. They only had to look at the more than one foot of snow that fell outside the tents they pitched in the Angeles National Forest.

“It would have been great if we had had the right stuff, but we didn’t,” said 16-year-old camper Jeff Montgomery, who said the weather prevented them from cooking for most of the trip.

For others, the weather was downright dangerous.

Roads slick with rain and hail were blamed for a broken leg and other injuries suffered by a California Highway Patrol officer who stepped from his vehicle late Sunday night and was struck by a car that spun out of control on northbound Interstate 5 near Avenida Pico in San Clemente.

Officer Mike Bernardin was transported to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where he was in stable condition Monday, said CHP spokeswoman Carol Kelly said. The 24-year-old driver of the station wagon that sideswiped Bernardin and his patrol car was not cited.

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For some, however, the only complaint about the unusual weather Monday was that there wasn’t enough of it.

When Melody Cane of San Juan Capistrano awoke to a radio report of snow falling in the Cleveland National Forest, she packed a picnic of peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, tucked her 3-year-old son, Gerald, into his car seat and headed for the hills.

By midday, there was only a slushy mound where their snowman had been, victim of the sunny skies.

“It’s nice being able to ride up the road a bit to see snow,” Cane said.

Cleveland Forest spokeswoman Joan Wynn said higher elevations in the park had received up to 2 feet of snow and it was still snowing late Monday afternoon, forcing numerous road closures.

Wynn advised park travels to call (619) 557-5262 or (909) 736-1811 for information on park road conditions.

Kaczmarek said the cold front was coming from frigid parts north: “It’s coming straight down from Canada, but it will be short lived.”

Times staff writer Thao Hua contributed to this report.