Downgraded Hurricane Still Making Waves

Hurricane Linda sputtered into a weak tropical storm Monday, but not before delivering a crashing surf that drew crowds of wave-watchers to Orange County beaches and another little spray of rain.

“It was like a finale show,” said Sgt. Mike Hiller of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Harbor Patrol. “She gave us a little taste today, a very small taste, of what she could have been.”

Monday’s mammoth waves and scattered showers are expected to weaken today, although the National Weather Service will keep its heavy surf advisory in effect until this afternoon when the swells move to the southwest.

Patchy morning fog will give way to partly cloudy skies Tuesday, with highs in the mid-80s, meteorologist Joe Dandrea said. A low pressure trough moving to the north will bring slightly cooler temperatures to Orange County by Wednesday, with highs in the mid-70s to low 80s, he said. Monday’s high was a muggy 87 degrees.

“It’s going to start to feel cooler, especially along the coast,” Dandrea said. “The sun will be out by then, but it will still be a little breezy.”

Less than a 10% chance of rain is forecast for today, but humidity will hang around 41%.

Waves along Newport and Huntington beaches peaked at 15 feet Monday, but lifeguards made far fewer rescues than the more than 160 on Sunday, when a sudden slap of surf yanked five people off a jetty in Newport Beach. One 32-year-old victim remained hospitalized in serious condition late Monday; the rest, including a 12-year-old boy, were released.

To prevent further mishaps, Newport Beach officials announced they had closed two jetties at the entrance to Newport Harbor until Wednesday evening. They also appealed to the public to keep off the Balboa Peninsula until the effects of the storm pass.

Crowds jammed the narrow peninsula Monday, swamping the streets leading to the bodysurfing locale known as the Wedge, to catch a peek of the strong surf.

“People just did a lot more watching today, probably because the waves just look more intimidating,” said Lt. Greg Crow, a Huntington Beach lifeguard supervisor. “Even the strongest, most conditioned swimmers can get into trouble out there.”

While the drizzle of rain that moved around Orange County on Monday amounted only to .04 inches, it was enough to cause heavy traffic delays and a few accidents, California Highway Patrol officials said. The county’s last significant rainfall was .25 inches on Feb. 11.

A semitruck jackknifed on the Garden Grove Freeway during the morning commute about 8:30 a.m., swiping three other cars, causing numerous injuries and forcing a three-hour closure of all eastbound lanes, CHP Officer Michelle Dimaggio said. Another man crashed his car into a tree in Mission Viejo, apparently after slipping on the road.

“It doesn’t seem like much [rain], but when you haven’t had any for this long, the traffic gets chaotic,” Dimaggio said. “Even a tiny sprinkle makes a mess of things.”

Downgraded Monday morning to a tropical storm--Linda once had produced gusts as high as 215 mph--it was generating sustained winds of about 55 mph Monday night as it headed west toward oblivion in the vast stretches of open sea between the mainland and the Hawaiian Islands.

John Sherwin, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times, said dry air is approaching Orange County from the west that will help push the tropical storm’s wet residue south by week’s end.

“Things should start feeling better soon,” Sherwin said.

Elsewhere in the Southland, the rains, which were heavier in the mountains, helped firefighters snuff out remaining embers from a forest fire that had destroyed 11 homes and two outbuildings in the San Bernardino National Forest near Running Springs.

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Battered Beaches

Even though Hurricane Linda has weakened to a tropical storm and turned away from Orange County, big waves it created last week and pushed in our direction are pounding local beaches. A look at why the diminished storm still is affecting our shoreline:

1. Hurricane winds push water outward, creating waves

2. Some water is also pulled inward, into hurricane’s eye

3. Water spirals downward and hits ocean bottom, creating underwater currents

4. Underwater currents carry waves to shore

Wedge Works

During a southern swell, waves flow directly onshore. This direct flow combined with reflection off the west jetty help waves gain speed and size and form a wedge:

A. Southern swell carries wave directly to shore

B. As wave breaks, it is reflected off jetty

C. Reflected wave collides with next swell, creating wedge-shaped wave twice original size

Sources: WeatherData, Inc., The Weather Book, Times reports; Researched by APRIL JACKSON /