County Won’t Bear Brunt of Next Storm

Another powerful Pacific storm is expected to slam California this weekend, but forecasters say Orange County probably will escape with only light showers again.

About a quarter-inch of rain fell in Santa Ana on Friday, a far cry from the conditions that closed the state’s busiest north-south route, the Golden State Freeway, and the torrential freezing rain and snow across Washington and Oregon that left more than 300,000 homes and businesses without power, halted travel and closed highway passes.

In California, the state’s northern and central areas were expected to bear the brunt of a new storm that hit Hawaii on Friday, with 5 to 10 inches of rain expected tonight through Monday. Forecasters also are calling for “almost tropical storm-force winds” gusting up to 60 mph in areas north of Monterey.

“You’re just far enough south where you will probably get just a glancing blow,” said Jon Erdman, a meteorologist for WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

However, another storm could arrive Wednesday for the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl football game, Erdman said.

Although Orange County was spared major rainfall, Friday’s light rain contributed to a season total of more than 8 inches, more than twice the normal season total of 3.31 inches.

The Golden State Freeway was shut down near the Grapevine Friday after 28 vehicles were involved in traffic accidents set off by dense fog. Nine people were injured, two of them seriously.

With visibility reduced to 75 feet, big rigs and cars littered a two-mile stretch of Interstate 5 about 65 miles north of Los Angeles.

Two of the injured, both men, were in critical condition at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, a hospital staffer said.

Both sides of the freeway were closed for about three hours.

Four teenagers who got stranded 7,000 feet up Mt. Baldy and endured subfreezing temperatures without jackets were lifted to safety Friday afternoon.

The youths, who were clad in jeans and light shirts, all were believed to have hypothermia and one possibly had a twisted ankle after an overnight stint on the slopes of the 10,064-foot mountain, a San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokesman said.

At least three deaths in Washington and Oregon were blamed on Friday’s storm, which sent ice-laden trees crashing down on homes, streets and power lines. More rain and snow were expected in the Northwest late today.

Flooding and mudslides caused Amtrak to cancel passenger trains between Seattle and Eugene, Ore. Downtown Seattle was a virtual ghost town, with almost no traffic and few people.

“Stay wherever you are,” Erdman told Southern Californians. “Don’t take any vacations up north.”

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Weathering Heights

Friday’s light rain contributed to a season total already more than twice the norm. Look for mostly cloudy skies this weekend with storms rolling in by Sunday night. Rainfall for 24 hours ending 4 p.m. Friday, in inches:

Lake Forest 0.17

Newport Beach 0.01

San Juan Capistrano 0.02

Santa Ana 0.28

Santa Ana Seasonals

Season to date 8.04

Last season to date 1.47

Normal to date 3.31

Source: WeatherData Inc.