Erratic Rain Soaks Pockets of the County

A rain cloud literally sat on top of Thousand Oaks and doused the city Wednesday morning, while Camarillo saw barely enough precipitation to wet the windshield.

An erratic spring storm brought Ventura County some much-needed rain, although the region is still below average rainfall for the year.

“The ground was dry and it’s all soaking in,” said John Weikel, senior engineer for the county’s Flood Control Department. “This will save people from having to water their lawns.”

But the showers, which began Tuesday, have dropped little rain on the agricultural plain in Oxnard. Instead, the downpours have been concentrated in the Matilija Canyon area beyond Ojai and in pockets of the county.

“It comes in spurts, but when it does it pours,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Art Bielz in Fillmore. Fillmore received twice as much rain as neighboring Piru, and Thousand Oaks received four times as much as Moorpark.

Ojai also experienced brief showers, while the mountains beyond received one-half to three-quarters of an inch of rain.

Forecasters predict cloudy skies and a 20% chance of rain today but a clear weekend, except for some morning fog. High temperatures should be in the 60s along the coast and rise to the 70s inland, according to the National Weather Service.

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control District for the 36-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 36 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.01 10.20 12.80 Casitas Dam 0.08 15.64 22.76 El Rio 0.03 11.08 14.63 Fillmore 0.23 12.00 18.20 Moorpark 0.09 10.53 14.31 Ojai .05 12.64 20.83 Upper Ojai 0.05 15.03 22.94 Oxnard 0.09 11.64 14.14 Piru 0.12 10.26 16.75 Santa Paula 0.14 13.24 16.99 Simi Valley 0.16 10.45 14.00 Thousand Oaks 0.39 9.52 14.98 Ventura Govt. Center 0.14 11.28 15.59