Storm Drenches Coast Areas, Dumps Snow on Mountains

A winter storm blew through Ventura County early Thursday, drenching coastal areas with more than an inch of rain and dumping the season’s first significant snowfall on the mountains.

National Weather Service officials issued a flood watch for Ventura County at 4:30 a.m., but canceled it later in the morning. There was no flooding reported, said Hassan Kasraie, hydrology manager of the Ventura County Flood Control Department.

“It’s too early in the season,” Kasraie said. “It takes a while for the watershed to get saturated with rain.”

Even so, county fire officials urged residents to prepare for the rainy season by removing debris from drains and gutters. In addition, the Fire Department issued a list of local stores that stock sand and sandbags.

County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said she hoped that Thursday’s storm would serve as a warning that the rainy season had begun in earnest.

“It gives people the time and impetus to prepare their property,” she said.

Dave Servaes, state Department of Transportation maintenance manager for Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, said the storm created a few potholes and dislodged a few rocks that landed on state roads. But he said there were no major problems.

The California Highway Patrol reported a few rain-related accidents in Ventura County, none involving major injuries. On the freeways closer to Los Angeles, though, the rain brought with it more than 300 accidents, a 69% increase over a typical morning. Commuters added an average of 90 minutes to their trips.

Today for the holiday weekend, the CHP is bracing for traffic heading toward ski resorts in the San Bernardino Mountains, where six inches of powder was expected to accumulate by the end of the day.

In Ventura County, Caltrans sent snowplows up California 33 on Thursday morning to keep the road open.

Sandra Vanni, a dispatcher at the county Sheriff’s Department substation at Lockwood Valley, said six to eight inches of snow had fallen there by about 8 a.m. The snow was melting quickly in the valley, Vanni said, but there were still about four inches at roadside in the middle of the day.

The snowfall covered elevations from about 3,500 feet, just above Rose Valley, to Pine Mountain, officials said.

For David Dame, who lives near Pine Mountain, the snowstorm meant that he had to put chains on the tires of his four-wheel-drive vehicle before visiting a friend who lives deeper in Los Padres National Forest.

“It’s the most beautiful thing to wake up in the morning and see the snow,” Dame said.

Vanni said the storm came early in the year, adding that the ground in Lockwood Valley is usually not covered with snow before Thanksgiving.

The storm brought county rainfall totals to well above seasonal norms. But Kasraie said it is too early in the season to draw any conclusions about the possibility of flooding.

The one conclusion Kasraie did draw from Thursday’s storm?

“It’s nice because it keeps the grass green,” he said.

Showers could continue today, but forecasters do not predict any significant downpours this weekend.

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending 8 a.m. Thursday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.67 1.52 0.99 Casitas Dam 0.83 2.26 1.46 El Rio 1.29 2.03 0.95 Fillmore 0.43 1.87 1.37 Moorpark 0.43 1.39 1.03 Ojai 0.72 1.64 1.30 Upper Ojai 0.62 2.88 1.40 Oxnard 1.18 1.65 0.86 Piru 0.45 2.15 1.11 Santa Paula 0.63 1.85 1.21 Simi Valley 0.52 1.06 0.92 Thousand Oaks 0.55 1.25 0.98 Ventura Govt. Center 1.01 1.60 0.99