Rain Won’t Give O.C. a Pardon

Cool temperatures and scattered rain put a chill on the long Presidents Day weekend, and the dour weather will probably continue through the week, weather officials said Sunday.

More showers were expected today, but nothing like the storms that hit Southern California last week, said Bennett Ozminkowski, a meteorologist for Weather Central, which provides weather information to The Times.

“I don’t see anything too significant or heavy,” Ozminkowski said. “San Francisco’s going to get the brunt of it . . . but if it shifts for the south, it will be more than just showers” in Orange County.

The fitful weekend weather made it hard to plan outdoor activities.

Phil Garaway, a clerk at Newport Landing Whale Watching and Sport Fishing, said only 50 people total went whale watching Sunday on two boats.

“It doesn’t affect the whales. They are wet anyway,” Garaway said. “It’s the people who don’t want to go out in this weather.”

Scattered rain this afternoon should taper off by nightfall, Ozminkowski said. The weather otherwise will be breezy and cloudy, with daytime temperatures in the low 60s and nighttime lows in the upper 40s to low 50s.

Another storm tracking behind the first could bring even more rain by the end of the week, he said.

So far this season, rainfall totals in Santa Ana are above normal, with 9.16 inches recorded since July 1, according to the National Weather Service.

The normal rainfall level at this time is 8.86 inches.

Allan Ansdell, president of a Stanton amusement park, Adventure City, said the business was open Sunday despite the weather.

“We had a lot of birthday parties, so we have a nice little crowd over here,” he said.

And he expects to open as usual today, as well.

“We always open regardless of rain,” Ansdell said. “It’s disastrous when we decide not to open and people line up to buy tickets. We don’t want that to happen.”