Forecasters See Damp Ending to ’96

Saturday’s sunny respite will be washed away late this afternoon with rain that could continue through New Year’s Day, forecasters say.

“It doesn’t look like anything terribly heavy, but if it keeps raining for several days in a row all that rain adds up,” said Curtis Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

“It wouldn’t be outrageous to look for 1 to 3 inches along coastal areas and several more inches over the mountains, but that’s going to be spread out over three, four, maybe five days,” Brack said.

Increasing clouds today will signal the beginning of the rain with a chance of showers developing late this afternoon and then occasional rain tonight and into Monday. Highs will be in the upper 50s and 60s, and lows in the mid-40s to low 50s.

By Monday, a cold front moving through the county will bring breezy winds gusting up to 30 mph to accompany heavier downpours, especially in the mountains above 3,000 feet. Highs will reach only the mid-50s to mid-60s, with lows in the high 40s to low 50s.

The pattern of occasional rain and mostly cloudy skies is expected to continue for the remainder of 1996, Brack said.

“It’s not looking too fun,” he said. “The main storm system has tapped into a lot of moisture.”

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Saturday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.00 7.81 4.12 Casitas Dam 0.00 16.06 6.73 Casitas Rec. Center 0.00 14.47 6.98 Fillmore 0.04 12.46 5.87 Matilija Dam 0.00 18.50 7.25 Moorpark 0.00 9.29 4.27 Upper Ojai 0.00 5.63 6.25 Oxnard 0.00 8.77 4.03 Piru 0.12 8.96 4.77 Port Hueneme 0.04 8.47 4.06 Santa Paula 0.00 11.07 5.26 Simi Valley 0.00 8.79 4.04 Thousand Oaks 0.00 9.11 4.30 Ventura Govt. Center 0.00 9.17 4.06

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