Drizzle Replaces Sizzle in Parts of the County

The June gloom in July.

That’s what weather watchers from Ventura to Somis are calling the dreary and, in some parts of the county, drizzly weather system that has been hanging around for the last couple of weeks.

The unusual weather band is caused by hot air over land being replaced by cool, moist air from a 4,000-foot marine layer, said Vladimir Ryshko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

“When the interior heats up, the air rises,” Ryshko said on Wednesday. “The marine air is pulled in to replace it.”

When that happens, some areas are bound to experience weather while others remain clear, Ryshko said.

The marine layer caused scattered drizzles that lasted into Wednesday morning in some areas. Ryshko said the layer of moist air would get shallower today, and then begin to thicken again tonight, bringing possible local drizzle on Friday. Ventura was the wettest spot in the county, and a slight sprinkling in Thousand Oaks did not keep seniors from participating in scheduled activities at the Goebel Senior Adult Center on Janss Road.

“It really hasn’t been that much of a difference,” said recreation staff member Ray Olvera, who added that 200 or so seniors packed the center Wednesday like any dry day.

The midsummer moisture is good news for farmers, said Felix Gomez, orchard manager for Ag Land Services in Somis. “I call it the June gloom in July,” Gomez said. “It will save some farmers some money.”

The moist mornings help water the crops naturally, and when a client can put off paying to water a field or orchard for a few days the savings can be great, Gomez said.

“Water is expensive, and on a 10-acre orchard the farmer can save about $500 [in water company costs] in a week,” Gomez said.

Farmers are not the only ones who don’t mind the wet.

Scott Parrish, a state beach lifeguard in Ventura, knows it takes more than moist air to keep some people off the beach. “A number of groups have their regular beach day,” he said, “and drizzle or shine, they’re here.”

The fact that the gray skies couldn’t keep the sun gods or goddesses off the beach near the Ventura Pier was not lost on 14-year-old Erick Leal, of Ventura: “I came just to check out the girls,” he said.