Winter Storm System Loses Its Punch

The winter storm that forecasters predicted would swamp Ventura County on Friday fizzled out, and was expected to deposit less than a quarter of an inch of rain before making way for a sunny, breezy weekend.

Meteorologists initially believed the storm would pack a little more wallop, bringing chilly temperatures and dumping half an inch of rain on the county. But the weather system lost strength in Central California, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“It looks like we’re going to have a clear weekend,” meteorologist Bob Cari said Friday afternoon.

Today was expected to be sunny and windy, with gusts up to 30 mph and lows in the mid-40s, Cari said.

Waves up to 10 feet high were still barreling into the coast Friday, and the combination of sun and surf made for a popular day at local beaches.

Tom Corbridge of Thousand Oaks said he has been going to Surfers Point in Ventura for 15 years, and this week’s waves were the best he had seen.

“I’ve got friends who’ve been coming here 30 years, and this is the biggest stuff they have seen,” said Corbridge, 45.

Although the potential pollution from storm runoff concerned him, Corbridge said the swells were too tempting to ignore. “I know it’s a stupid mentality, but it’s too hard to resist,” he said.

In the seaside community of La Conchita on Friday, residents mistrustful of the sunny skies grabbed shovels and filled sandbags to protect their property from the expected storm. Many of them left the neighborhood after the work was done.

Not Bobby McKinney, however, who recently painted her house a vivid blue.

“I’m optimistic enough that my house isn’t going to fall down,” McKinney said after placing a stack of sandbags in front of her door. “I’m optimistic enough to paint it. There’s no taxes on the house now that the county auditor says it’s not worth anything, so I’ve got some extra money.”

John Weikel, the county’s senior flood-control engineer, said this week’s rainfall was too minor to result in any problems.

“It’s still pretty dry,” Weikel said. “As a general rule, we don’t see flooding until we’ve had at least 10 inches of rain.”

The National Weather Service issued a snow advisory for the mountainous northern Ventura back country on Friday.

It also issued a surf advisory, and meteorologists said unusually high swells are expected to continue striking the coast until late tonight.