Strong Northeast Winds Make a Gust Appearance

Strong winds from the northeast swept across Orange County on Tuesday, breaking power lines, uprooting trees and, with help from high ocean swells, capsizing a boat off Newport Harbor, authorities said.

In that 1:30 p.m. incident, three men collecting water samples for a Caltech research institute were rescued by the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol after their power boat capsized eight miles offshore in a 40 mph wind with 4- to 6-foot swells.

“It looks like they just took a couple of large swells over the bow, swamping the boat and causing it to capsize,” said Sgt. Jim Thomas, a spokesman for the Harbor Patrol.

Despite spending 30 minutes in the 60-degree water, the men were in good condition, Thomas said. All three had been wearing life jackets.

Elsewhere, wind speeds hit 35 mph in some inland canyons, but other areas were calm. “It was rather spotty,” said Mark Moede, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. While Los Alamitos reported no wind at all, he said, John Wayne Airport posted winds of 23 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

“That probably made for some bumpy landings,” Moede said.

Ann McCarley, an airport spokeswoman, said those landings, as well as takeoffs, were in the opposite direction than usual for part of the day. “Airplanes need to take off into the wind,” McCarley said, “so when the wind reverses direction, the planes reverse directions. . . . During a wind condition they take off and land to the north.”

The Orange County Fire Authority reported some broken power lines, some snagged by falling trees. No fires or injuries resulted. “We had a few that were threatening vegetation, but nothing got out of control,” said Capt. Stephen Miller of the fire agency.

About 100 Southern California Edison customers in Santa Ana and Huntington Beach lost electricity briefly, said utility spokesman Steven Conroy.