COUNTYWIDE : Officials Downgrade Strength of Storm

Meteorologists on Tuesday downgraded the strength of the storm expected to hit Ventura this week.

Terry Schaeffer, National Weather Service meteorologist in Santa Paula, had called for several inches of rain from the storm expected today, but changes in weather patterns forced him to revise his forecast to a maximum of one to two inches.

Schaeffer said it is still possible that the county could receive the deluge that had been forecast, but it is less likely.

Fox Weather, which is on contract to forecast weather for the Ventura County Flood Control Department, was calling for up to 1.5 inches of rain on the coast and up to 3.5 inches in the mountains on Thursday. That could still cause flooding in areas already saturated from last weekend’s storms, said Dolores Taylor, Ventura County engineer and hydrologist.

“If the rain is gentle, we’ll be fine,” she said. “But if it comes down in high intensity, that could be trouble.”

Taylor said the Flood Control Department is still concerned that reservoirs nearing their capacity in the northeastern part of the county and neighboring Los Angeles County could fill and spill excess water into the Santa Clara River, causing flooding downstream.

Flood Control Department officials are still on alert, she said.

Meteorologist Rae Strange of Pacific Weather Analysis in Montecito, who also provides forecasts for the Flood Control Department, said he believed that the storm would mostly bypass Ventura County, leaving only half an inch of rain at most.