Traffic-Snarling Storm to Clear Out Today

Clear skies are expected this afternoon after a windy rainstorm dumped half an inch of rain Monday and caused numerous fender benders that kept the California Highway Patrol busy on Orange County freeways.

“After [tonight], we should have wonderful weather for the rest of the week,” although it will be cooler today, said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

In Santa Ana, the storm dropped .54 inch, while Newport Beach reported .17, Lake Forest .25 and San Juan Capistrano .34.

For Santa Ana, the season total to date is 8.24 inches, compared with a seasonal norm of 9.55 inches, Brack said. Last season’s total at this date was a whopping 17.39 inches.

“You’re running a little below normal, and that’s just a little drier than you would usually expect,” Brack said. “But there is another month of the rainfall season to go.”

Lower temperatures, in the mid- to upper 30s, are expected at night in the valleys, Brack said. The cool front will push temperatures down during the day to the mid-50s to low 60s, he said. The snow level will be at 5,000 feet.

Poor visibility and slippery pavement contributed to numerous traffic accidents Monday.

In one, a trash truck skidded across three lanes of the Garden Grove Freeway and knocked a gaping hole in the center divider, CHP Officer Daniel Medina said.

“I saw at least four accidents going in one direction, and I saw three going to the hospital after the [truck crash],” Medina said. “It was pretty busy out there.”

Enrique Andrade, 25, of Anaheim was driving an Anaheim Disposal truck when it slid out of control about noon on the Garden Grove Freeway near Harbor Boulevard, prompting the closure of three westbound lanes for nearly 90 minutes, Medina said.

When the truck hit the concrete center divider, it knocked out a 4-foot-by-8-foot section. Injuries to the driver were minor, Medina said.

Meanwhile, CHP officers in Orange closed three southbound lanes of the Costa Mesa Freeway at Lincoln Avenue about 2:45 p.m., after another accident involving a big rig, said Officer Keith Bauer of the CHP’s Traffic Management Center.

Bauer said that only minor injuries were reported after the big rig was involved in a crash with two other vehicles.

A third major freeway accident involved a truck that went over the side of the Riverside Freeway near Imperial Highway in Anaheim.

Injuries were minor, Bauer said.

On the coast, 10- to 15-mph winds from the south kept beach crowds to a minimum, said Matt Karl, a marine safety officer in Huntington Beach.

The winds caused ocean temperatures to dip to 55 degrees. Breakers were only 2 to 3 feet, Karl said.