Orange County Register

12:30 p.m. update

Photographer-storm spotter Khristian Snyder of San Clemente took this image of a funnel cloud passing over the Dana Point area about 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. View more of his work at www.khristian.com

Areas of Orange County have received almost an inch of rain over the past 24 hours, and isolated showers continue to spritz the region.  But the puffy balls of moisture will soon move east, leaving the county dry for at least a week, says the National Weather Service. The air will stay crisp, with temperatures in the 60s as the county celebrates Thanksgiving. Forecasters have cancelled a special advisory that said water spouts could occur off south Orange County.

“We expect a low pressure system to move through on Monday, but it won’t be strong enough to bring rain,” says Stan Wasowski, a weather service forecaster. “All it will do is reduce the offshore winds, which won’t be that strong anyway.”

The storm that walloped the county late Tuesday night and early Wednesday dropped close to 2 inches of rain to parts of the region, which has been experiencing moderate drought since spring. The rain isn’t a drought buster, as we noted yesterday. But it provided a bounty for the Orange County Water District, which says it captured almost 326 million gallons of water flowing down the Santa Ana River and diverted it into holding areas, where the water can be placed the groundwater table. The water has a retail value of about $700,000.

Forecasters said the showers would likely end by 10 a.m. today. But light rain continues to fall on-and-off, mostly across northeastern Orange County. Skies are beginning to clear along the coast, and holiday parties are underway. Actress Sandra Bullock was spotted outside her Sunset Beach home this morning, preparing to welcome visitors.

Rainfall for 24 hour period ending at 11:30 a.m. Thursday

• Lower Silverado Canyon: 0.91 inches
• Cleveland National Forest: 0.83 inches
• San Juan Capistrano: 0.79 inches
• Laguna Woods: 0.59 inches
• San Clemente: 0.55 inches
• Modjeska Canyon: 0.28 inches
• Yorba Linda: 0.12 inches

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