Fast-Moving Squalls Preview Storm Expected to Dump Inch of Rain Today

Rain squalls swept through Ventura County on Sunday morning, the vanguard of a storm forecasters warned could bring heavy rain and snow to the area.

Despite clear skies Sunday evening, the National Weather Service predicted that the main brunt of the storm will hit this morning, with showers lingering until afternoon.

Forecasts called for an inch of rain falling throughout the county by tonight, with snow in the mountains. Elevations as low as 2,000 feet, in the northern part of the county, could receive a foot of snow.

And that snow could stick--at least for awhile, said Clay Morgan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Today’s temperatures are expected to reach the mid-20s to mid-30s in the mountains, with coastal areas reaching the 50s.

“And it’s going to struggle to make that in some places,” Morgan said.

The weather service issued a winter storm warning for the mountains, predicting that snow could be accompanied by winds reaching 20 mph to 30 mph.

The storm’s first wave caused few disturbances as it swept through the county, starting about 9 a.m. and ending after noon. By 2:30 p.m., the California Highway Patrol had responded to 11 accidents, none resulting in serious injuries.

Other police agencies reported a day that was, if anything, calmer than usual.

“Everyone seems to be in,” said Lt. Dave Inglis of the Ventura Police Department. “It’s a nice, quiet Sunday to stay at home.”

The ocean also seemed calm. Unlike the December storm that pulverized part of the Ventura Pier with 18-foot waves, Sunday’s fast-moving soaker brought relatively small, 3- to 5-foot surf, Morgan said.

“What we’d be worried about with high surf would be a storm sitting out over the ocean and stirring things up, and that isn’t really happening here,” he said.

The pier remained open to visitors Sunday and seemed to be weathering the storm well, Inglis said. The department had no plans to close it.

“Only if it starts to fall down,” he said.

The storm, Morgan said, could be the area’s last for awhile. After it blows through, the jet stream will shift back to the north, he said. For most of this winter, the jet stream has steered Pacific storms well north of Southern California, and that pattern, Morgan said, should soon resume.

“By the time the next storm gets in line to reach California, we’re going to be on the very extreme edge of it,” he said.