Wet week ahead in forecast for Orange County; rain projected through Friday

A wet week is on the horizon for Orange County and much of Southern California, according to the National Weather Service.

With heavy rain brought in by an atmospheric river on Thursday, some parts of Orange County reported more than an inch of rain. According to the county’s public works department, about 1.85 inches of rain fell in Huntington Beach; Costa Mesa and Newport Beach reported between 1.1 and 1.34 inches, while Fountain Valley reported 1.38 inches. Laguna Beach received 1.22 inches of the wet stuff.

Residents should expect 3 to 5 more inches starting Sunday, according to meteorologists at the San Diego station for the NWS, but where those rain cells will set up and the severity of the storms may change. Flooding may be possible.

A couple share an umbrella as rain falls in downtown Laguna Beach on Thursday afternoon. Rain is expected to begin again on Sunday with the heaviest precipitation coming on Monday and Tuesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Wind gusts are expected to range from 30 to 35 mph, and wave sets may be anywhere from 4 to 8 feet in parts of Orange County, according to meteorologists. Other parts of California are bracing for the impacts of the storm, which experts say are “super charged” by El Niño and the impacts of climate change.

Flooding was reported Thursday on parts of Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach, and local cities are preparing by providing residents with sandbags, preparing sand berms and readying public works crews in anticipation.

Meteorologist Adam Roser said it remained uncertain as of Friday afternoon what time rain will begin on Sunday, but the heaviest precipitation will occur Monday and Tuesday. The rain should begin to taper off by Tuesday evening, he said, but there is a chance for precipitation through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, making for what he said would be a pretty wet week.

“This has definitely been [a wetter than average winter]. We’ve seen a lot of moisture in the Pacific, orienting from west to east and coming into parts of the West Coast into California over the past month or so,” Roser said. “From Oct. 1 to Feb. 1, in Newport Beach, they’re reporting 3 inches of rain compared to last year’s 8 inches. It was a much wetter start to the year, but we’re going to get a good couple of inches in Orange County with the rain coming in this week.”

A woman is ready for the downpour as she walks in downtown Laguna Beach before the rain fell on Thursday afternoon. About 1.22 inches of rain fell over the last three days, according to O.C. Public Works.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)