Roads Get Rain Delays

A slow-moving storm dropped rain across Orange County on Monday, bringing traffic to a virtual standstill during the afternoon commute as cars spun out on slick freeways.

“We’ve had a lot of crashes,” said Katrina Lundgren, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol. Few of those caused injuries, though, and most of those were minor, she said.

By late afternoon, the CHP had received 244 calls reporting traffic mishaps, compared with about 50 calls on a typical day.

Among the most serious incidents, Lundgren said, was a pileup about 1:35 p.m. involving three cars and a big-rig truck on the Orange Freeway south of Lambert Road in Brea that resulted in minor injuries. Several accidents along Santiago Canyon Road prompted authorities to close it for two hours during the heaviest afternoon rain.

“We really didn’t have any major incidents today,” Lundgren said, “just a lot of incidents. It was the volume. The roads were slicker because the oils were coming back up and there was low visibility. People had a hard time getting home.”

The storm, which brought cooler temperatures as well as rain, originated in the Gulf of Alaska, moved southward to the eastern Pacific and lingered there for two days before gaining enough momentum to move southeast over California, said Amy Talmadge, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which does forecasts for The Times.

“It’s a typical system,” Talmadge said. “If it was in July maybe it would be unusual, but this is toward the end of the rainy season.”

Monday’s rainfall in Orange County ranged from 0.20-inch in Dana Point to 1.23-inch in La Habra. Other totals were 0.65-inch in Fullerton, 0.51 in Irvine, 0.30 in Newport Beach and 0.27 in San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana. The rain brought the season’s total to date to about 8 inches--more than last year’s but still below the average of 12.03 inches.

In an incident that may have been weather-related, police reported finding the body of a woman, apparently a drowning victim, that washed ashore near the Seal Beach Pier. The woman’s death was being investigated late Monday, and no details were immediately available.

The rain was expected to continue through Monday night, tapering off by sunrise today, Talmadge said. The rest of the day should be mostly cloudy with patchy dense fog through Tuesday night and mostly sunny skies Wednesday, she said.

Temperatures, Talmadge said, should range from the mid-40s and low 50s to the high 60s and low 70s.