H.B. and CdM get more than 2 inches of rain as storm douses O.C.; rocks cause closures on Laguna Canyon Road
A strong storm walloped coastal Orange County on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, dousing some cities with more than two inches of rain, prompting a brief tornado warning and resulting in closures on Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach because of unstable hillsides.
Locally, Huntington Beach was atop the leaderboard in terms of rainfall — receiving 2.48 inches during the 12-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
Corona del Mar also got a soaking, with 2.12 inches of rain recorded during that period. Parts of Laguna Beach also neared the 2-inch mark.
Costa Mesa received 1.65 inches of rain, and 1.74 inches fell at John Wayne Airport, the weather service reported.
A rockslide blocked the inbound side of Laguna Canyon Road near Canyon Acres Drive at about 4:15 a.m. Thursday, damaging one vehicle, according to Laguna Beach police Sgt. Jim Cota. The outbound lane was divided to create one lane in each direction, Cota said on Twitter.
The road was later fully reopened in both directions, Cota said, but then was partially closed again in the 1100 block because of unstable boulders on the hillside.
The California Department of Transportation plans to close Laguna Canyon Road roughly between El Toro Road and Canyon Acres from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday to work on the hillside.
The storm also prompted a tornado warning early Thursday after a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a twister was spotted near Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, moving north at 35 mph. The tornado warning, which was issued shortly after midnight, was canceled about 10 minutes later after the storm weakened. However, some residents were jolted awake by emergency alerts.
Weather-related power outages were reported in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, according to Southern California Edison.
Forecasters say the rain clouds are expected to largely move out of the area by Thursday night, clearing the way for mostly sunny skies through the weekend.
Daily Pilot staff writer Lilly Nguyen, Los Angeles Times staff writer Hannah Fry and City News Service contributed to this report.
Updates
7:15 a.m. Dec. 26, 2019: This article was originally published at 9:15 a.m. Dec. 26 and has been updated with additional information.
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