As One Storm Subsides, Another Is Expected to Move In

A storm that dropped about 1 1/2 inches of rain in Ventura County during the weekend is expected to move out today without causing any serious flooding.

But forecasters predicted a much heavier storm to move in Tuesday night and linger a couple of days.

The new storm is expected to drop at least one to two inches of rain and stay through Thursday or Friday morning, said Steve Burback, a meteorologist for WeatherData, which does forecasts for The Times. Thunderstorms are possible, he said.

Mountain areas above 5,000 feet, meanwhile, could get up to a foot of snow Wednesday night and Thursday, Burback said.

“There will be probably a dry period for next weekend, but it probably won’t last for long,” Burback said. “There are more storms forming up in the Aleutian Islands and heading toward California.”

The series of storms will probably cause problems for strawberry growers, said Dave Buettner, the county’s deputy agriculture commissioner.

“It’s likely to keep them from harvesting for a couple of days,” Buettner said. “The strawberry growers are likely to lose some of their crop. But it won’t be catastrophic.”

Authorities reported no major flooding in Ventura County during the weekend, but high water prompted the California Highway Patrol to close the westbound lanes of Las Posas Road in Camarillo Sunday afternoon. The CHP reported that part of California 118 at Aggen Road near Somis was flooded Sunday night, but the highway remained open. Santa Clara Avenue from Friedrich Road to Central Avenue, north of Oxnard, was closed because of mudslides, the CHP said.

Several front yards of homes in the 100 block of Anacapa Drive, near Las Posas, also were flooded, said Tim Vanbastelaar, an Anacapa Drive resident.

“Anacapa Drive is on a hill, and there’s been lots of water running down toward Las Posas Road,” he said.

The CHP said it received at least five reports Sunday of cars spinning out on freeways, apparently because of the rain.

“We don’t have any major injuries” in those accidents, a CHP dispatcher said. “We just need people to slow down.”

The CHP was still investigating a two-car accident Sunday on California 126, and had no details available on the crash in which five people, some with serious injuries, were taken to Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and Ventura County Medical Center. Investigators said they did not know whether it was rain-related.

The highway was closed briefly at Rancho Sespe Road so a helicopter could airlift some victims and the westbound lanes were blocked from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m.

REGIONAL WEATHER: A3