Rain due back in a day

The National Weather Service reports that Newport-Mesa residents may get a day of reprieve from the rain before it’s expected to pick up again Wednesday night and into Thursday.

On Monday, Southern California Edison reported blackouts in several Orange County cities, including 3,359 power outages between Costa Mesa and Newport Beach that Edison officials believe were weather-related. Company officials said the blackout was centered around the Balboa Peninsula and southern edge of Costa Mesa. The blackout reached as far north as 15th Street in Costa Mesa, to Channel Road in Newport Beach on the west, Seashore Drive to the south and 59th Street to the west.

Because of Monday’s rain, the California Highway Patrol and Newport-Mesa paramedics had their hands full, responding to half a dozen traffic collisions before noon on local freeways and streets.

About 11 a.m., drivers could see traffic crashes about 100 yards apart on the southbound 405 Freeway, off Harbor Boulevard and Fairview Road. A few miles away, there was a crash reported on the 55 Freeway at 19th Street in Costa Mesa.

No one in the crashes suffered serious injuries, California Highway Patrol officials reported. There were no major weather-related incidents, authorities said.

Elsewhere, Newport Beach lifeguards said that more than an inch of rain fell along the coast, and wind from the storm churned 2- to 3-foot-high waves.

For today, the National Weather Service forecasts highs in the mid-50s with 5 mph gusts and temperatures dropping to about 40 degrees tonight.

It should be mostly sunny Wednesday. The temperature should warm up to about 60 degrees as the second part of the storm rolls in by nightfall, possibly bringing more rain and temperatures in the mid-40s.

The agency reports about a 60% chance of rain Thursday.