Rainfall Is Not Expected to Be as Heavy as Predicted : Weather: Storm will bring scattered showers to the county but the precipitation should be light.

The brunt of a Pacific storm will pass Ventura County by this weekend, leaving overcast skies and some scattered showers but not the heavy rainfall originally predicted, meteorologists said Friday.

The rain could begin by this evening and continue into Sunday, with accumulations of up to a quarter of an inch along the coast and half an inch in the inland areas, forecasters said.

“The heavy precipitation doesn’t look like it’s coming” to the county, said Bruce Thoren, a meteorologist with WeatherData, Inc., which forecasts for The Times.

Instead, the storm system will be concentrated in Northern and Central California, forecasters said.

Although the amount of rain expected is less than originally predicted by some forecasters, it is still unusual for this late in the season. The record rainfall for April 24--the date when this weekend’s rainfall is predicted--is only one-tenth of an inch, recorded in 1983.

Thoren said if the storm does bring half an inch of rain to parts of the county, “that would be an unusually wet system for this late in the season.”

The weather should be unseasonably cool as well as damp, Thoren said. Cold air from the Gulf of Alaska, where the storm system started, should bring a chill to the air, dropping temperatures into the 40s by Sunday evening.

Brad Fujii, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said average temperatures for the county this time of year are normally in the 60s or low 70s, with nighttime lows around 55 degrees.

Snow levels in the Northern Sierra could drop as low as 3,000 feet, Fujii said. The Santa Barbara Mountains might see a slight dusting on Sunday, he said, if snow levels dip to 5,000 feet.

Organizers for Ventura’s California Beach Party, which starts today and continues through Sunday, said rumors about the predicted storm had been flying through the office all day Friday.

But the party will go on, rain or shine, according to event coordinator Faye Campbell.

“The weather report keeps changing,” Campbell said. “We expect to get either two half-good days or one good day. If anybody stays home they’re going to miss a good time.”

Campbell said it has never rained on the beach party in its eight-year history.

Thoren said skies should be sunny this morning and during the early afternoon, with clouds rolling in during the late afternoon. High temperatures should be in the 60s.

Sunday is likely to be overcast, he said, with chances for sporadic showers throughout the day. Temperatures should be in the upper 50s to mid-60s during the day, dipping into the 40s in the evening.