Rain’s Result Is Wreckage

A powerful storm system from the Gulf of Alaska brought gusty winds, heavy rains and even hail to parts of the Southland on Sunday, knocking over trees and contributing to hundreds of traffic accidents, including a crash that left two men dead in Santa Ana.

The storm, which dumped close to an inch of rain on Orange County, is expected to last through this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather-related traffic woes also are expected to spill into this morning’s commute. On Sunday, California Highway Patrol officers responded to more than 100 accidents on Orange County freeways. On a typical Sunday, officers handle four or five accidents, said CHP communications supervisor Susan Simmons.

In Santa Ana, slick pavement and unsafe speed were blamed for the fatal accident near the corner of Fairview and West 1st streets.

Raul Estevez Martinez, 27, and Hilario Rivera Diaz, 22, both of Santa Ana, were killed when Martinez lost control of his convertible Ford Mustang about 1:20 a.m. The car careened into the median, slamming into three trees and overturning, said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna.

“The car was flattened because it was a convertible,” Luna said. The two men were dead when emergency crews arrived. Luna said Martinez may have been driving too fast for conditions.

From close calls to inconveniences, the rest of Orange County survived the storm relatively unscathed. By late Sunday, there were no reports of flooding, although flash flood warnings were in effect until 3:30 a.m. today. Spurts of hail were reported in Orange, Costa Mesa, Laguna Hills, Laguna Beach and Seal Beach.

In Huntington Beach, strong winds forced officials to close the city’s pier. Marine Safety Lt. Steve Davidson said gusts of up to 60 mph nearly toppled a trailer housing a surf shop on the pier. The winds also blew a piece of plywood from a construction site clear across the boardwalk. No one was injured.

“It wasn’t a pleasant day,” Davidson said.

In Newport Beach, winds downed trees and triggered house alarms, keeping police busy.

“It is not an ordinary Sunday,” said Police Sgt. Fred Heinecke. When a 60-foot tree fell on the roof of a Corona del Mar home, the residents were out and no one was injured, Heinecke said.

The weather also dampened local sporting events. Downtown Los Angeles received almost 1.75 inches of rain during its annual marathon, and some runners had to be treated for hypothermia. In Newport Beach, the rain forced cancellation of the final round of the Toshiba Senior Classic golf tournament.

Meteorologists predicted 0.5-inch to 2 inches more rain for Orange County today. West to northwest winds of 15 to 20 mph are expected, with higher gusts possible.

“This is a typical winter storm, but it comes at an odd time of the year,” said Amy Talmage, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which supplies forecasts to The Times.

The La Nina weather pattern has brought a drier than usual winter season to the Southland, Talmadge said. But as the pattern begins to break, the region is seeing belated winter conditions, she said.

“This is definitely the coldest storm of the season,” she said, with temperatures through the night expected to sink to the upper 30s to low 40s.

The storm dumped 0.95-inch of rain in Santa Ana on Sunday, bringing the season total to 7.51 inches, still short of the average 9.63 inches for this time of the year.

The downpour forced some road closures. In Huntington Beach, police closed Pacific Coast Highway from Warner Avenue south to Goldenwest Street because of flooding. In Orange, Chapman Avenue was closed at Cliffway Drive because of mudslides. Late Sunday, officials said they did not know when the roads would reopen.

The heavy rains also interrupted power to 13,200 Southern California Edison customers throughout Orange County, said company spokesman Paul Klein. But most of the service was restored by early evening.

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Times staff writers David Reyes and Jeffrey L. Rabin and Times correspondents Alex Murashko and Ana Cholo-Tipton contributed to this story.