Sunny, Dry Weather Is on the Way

The hot, muggy weather and morning sprinkles that greeted Ventura County residents Friday are on their way out today, with forecasters predicting sunnier skies and drier air for the weekend.

“We’re back to more typical summertime weather,” said meteorologist Rea Strange of the Pacific Weather Analysis in Montecito.

Light rain that dampened roads and freeways for the morning commute was the tail end of Hurricane Darby, a tropical storm off the coast of Southern California that brought crashing surf and humid weather to Ventura County for three days, Strange said.

Only trace amounts of precipitation were recorded Friday, county hydrologists said.

Although the storm moved out of the region, the heat and humidity continued through Friday because a thick marine layer trapped warm air below it, he said. Temperatures Friday reached the mid-70s along the coast and near 80 for much of the east county.

“Even under normal humidity, with a little bit of heat, the comfort level deteriorates,” Strange said.

The morning’s clouds cleared by afternoon, bringing hundreds of people to county beaches. Surfers also were out in force, although the 6-foot swells seen earlier this week had diminished to 2 feet by Friday morning, said Scott Parrish, a lifeguard at San Buenaventura State Beach.

“The swell really dropped but the beach was pretty packed anyway,” he said. “This weekend’s going to be a real busy one.”

The National Weather Service is calling for night and morning low clouds with possible drizzle followed by partial afternoon clearing with light breezes for today and Sunday. Highs will be low to mid-70s along the coast and in the mid-80s to near 90 around inland valleys, meteorologists said.

Although smog levels in east county cities neared unhealthful levels earlier this week, pollutant indexes dropped significantly on Friday, the Air Pollution Control District reported. Ozone levels are expected to remain low for the remainder of the weekend, officials said.