Weird weather: Heat wave, thunderstorms hit Orange County
It was a weird Wednesday out there, weatherwise.
As the day went on, the conversation changed from the blistering heat to the torrential downpour that closed some beaches and caused several fire calls in Orange County.
From the morning until early afternoon Wednesday, temperatures in some Orange County cities reached triple digits, but then thunderstorms rolled in, providing a little relief from the heat - and a little craziness.
A lightning storm offered some rain and may have been the cause of a brief power outage in the terminals and parking structures at John Wayne Airport, airport officials tweeted. Some flights were delayed and others diverted to other area airports, said Jenny Wedge, a spokeswoman for the airport.
Around 4 p.m., Huntington Beach Marine Safety officials evacuated all city beaches because of lightning strikes in the area, and the Huntington Beach Pier was closed, a dispatcher said. The beaches and pier were reopened two hours later.
The Angels cleared the field at Angel Stadium during batting practice because of the weather. The Angels faced the Dodgers there later that night.
Some Orange County high school football teams ran for cover and canceled their practices. Villa Park and Tustin high schools skipped their workouts after hearing the thunder and lightning.
“We could hear the thunder and it started to sprinkle,” Tustin coach Winter Welz said. “So we decided to call it a day.”
A golf match between El Dorado and Valencia high schools in Placentia was canceled.
Around 4:40 p.m., two people were rescued from the Santa Ana Flood Control Channel in the 2800 block of South Flower Street. A man and woman in their late 30s were walking in the channel when it started raining and the water rose to two feet, said Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.
“The storm came and caught them off guard,” Concialdi said.
Firefighters cut a hole in a fence and lowered a 24-foot ladder, and the pair climbed up to safety. They were not injured.
Near downtown Santa Ana, a lightning bolt struck a transformer, residents said. Smoke was seen coming from a nearby restaurant, Alvaro’s Mexican Food, 415 N. Grand Ave., and OCFA firefighters responded shortly before 4 p.m.
Also, around 3:35 p.m., lightning struck two tall palm trees in the backyard of a home near Sixth and B streets in Tustin, said police Sgt. Del Pickney. The lightning set palm fronds on fire, which fell to the ground, starting a small blaze that was quickly extinguished by the Orange County Fire Authority, he said. The home was not damaged.
Classrooms in three Costa Mesa schools were flooded by the downpour. Workers were doing HVAC repairs on the roofs of California and Killybrooke elementary schools, and Tewinkle Middle School, when rain caused some ceiling tiles to fall and water to pour into the classrooms, said Lt. Ed Everett of the Costa Mesa Police Department. No students were in the school at the time.
Before the rain, temperatures in parts of the county were well over triple digits.
Yorba Linda and the Fullerton Airport reached 105 and 104 degrees, respectively. Huntington Beach and Newport Beach also reached 95 and 84 degrees. John Wayne Airport and Laguna Beach hit 95 degrees.
Costa Mesa recorded .24 inches of rain, and Santa Ana inches received .20 inches, said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. No other cities broke the .20-inch mark.
On Thursday, temperatures could reach into the high 90s for most cities, and the upper 80s for areas near the ocean. On Friday, inland cities are expected to reach the high 90s, and areas near the coast will range from the high 80s to low 90s.
Staff Writer Scott Schwebke contributed to this report
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