SANTA PAULA : Light Rainfall Is One for the Record Books

It wasn’t much, but it was enough.

The 0.17 of an inch of rain that fell on Santa Paula on Monday night and Tuesday morning catapulted the city’s yearly rain total over the 37-inch mark for the first time in 50 years and for only the third time since 1872, meteorologist Terry Schaeffer said Tuesday.

Santa Paula’s rain total, said Schaeffer of the National Weather Service, is 37.12 inches for the rain year that ends June 30. The record for Santa Paula, which averages about 17 inches annually, is 38.11 inches in 1940-1941. Last year, the total was 30.40 inches.

According to the National Weather Service, the low front that moved through the county resulted in 0.40 of an inch of rain at Matilija Dam, 0.22 in Ojai, 0.16 in Ventura and 0.16 in Simi Valley.

The rain “was just a typical winter-type weather front that moved down the coast” from the Bay Area, said Bob Grebe, a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service. “It was kind of a last gasp of winter. We’ll continue to have night and morning low clouds and afternoon sunshine for the next few days.”

Although the rain was quick and light, it could have an effect on the county’s strawberry crops.

“If it stays warm and humid after it clears, it will cause mold and fungi to go nuts,” said Rex Laird, executive director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “I think there will be enough that they will have to go back and treat it, where they normally wouldn’t this time of year.”

But Alan Laird, the county’s deputy agricultural commissioner, wasn’t tooconcerned. “There hasn’t been enough rain to cause any problems with quality and harvesting of berries,” he said.