COUNTYWIDE : Forecasters Predict an Inch of Rain

A rainstorm that brought showers and cool temperatures to Ventura County on Sunday was expected to bring as much as an inch of rain to parts of the county by today, forecasters said.

“This was the strongest weather system we’ve seen this rainy season,” said Rick Dittmann, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

By Sunday evening, about one-fifth of an inch of rain had fallen in Ventura and more than one-quarter inch in Point Mugu, he said, but much more rain was expected to fall in the western part of the county overnight.

“I think you could see another inch” by this morning, Dittmann said.

The storm system developed in the Gulf of Alaska, hit the San Francisco Bay Area Saturday night and by Sunday was bringing precipitation to the entire western United States, he said.

Light showers that started early Sunday across the county turned heavier by noon and continued sporadically into the evening, Dittmann said.

As the stormy weather continues today, “there is the potential for some locally heavy rain,” Dittmann said.

The storm will begin to diminish tonight, giving way to partly cloudy skies Tuesday, he said.

The high today will be on the chilly side, in the mid- to upper 50s, with the temperature dipping into the mid-40s tonight, Dittmann said.

Snow is expected at elevations above 4,000 feet and is also possible as low as 3,000 feet before the storm leaves the area, he said.