Orange County Soaked with Record Rainfall

The first major storm of the season dumped record rainfall in Newport Beach while snarling roadways throughout the region with fender-benders.

According to the California Highway Patrol, overnight freeway crashes in Los Angeles County more than doubled to 189 wrecks Wednesday morning.

Rainfall in Orange County Tuesday set a Dec. 2 record with John Wayne Airport receiving .45 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Elsewhere around the region, Tuesday produced a raft of rainfall records for a December 2. These included:

-- Record rainfall of 1.21 inch fell in downtown L.A., eclipsing the record of 1.10 inch set in 1961.

-- 1.12 inch was recorded at LAX, breaking the record of 0.73 inch set in 1966.

-- 1.04 inch was recorded at Long Beach Airport, breaking the record of 0.79 inch set in 1961.

On Wednesday, voluntary evacuation orders were lifted in the Silverado Canyon area, which faces mudslide and debris flow dangers due to a recent wildfire.

The NWS forecast calls for the rain to taper to showers Thursday.

-City News Service contributed to this report.