Rain causes roadway flooding, stranding motorists, and other hazards along O.C. coast

A few manhole covers floated away. At least a dozen motorists got stranded in high water on the south side of Costa Mesa and had to be towed out. And a tree fell on a house in Corona del Mar — all because of today’s rainstorm, part of a weather pattern expected to worsen throughout the week, officials said.

The series of Pacific Coast storms, forecast to last until Friday, is expected to dump as much as 8 inches of rain along Orange County’s coastal areas. And a high surf advisory was to go into effect early Tuesday, putting lifeguards on heightened alert in Newport Beach, said Jim Turner, lifeguard battalion chief for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

Strong rip tides, powerful swells and 8- to 10-foot-high surf are just a few of the hazardous conditions people can expect Tuesday through Friday, Turner said.

The Daily Pilot has more details and photos here.

-- Tom Ragan in Orange County