County Put on Notice but Rain Didn’t Show

“April showers spring May flowers” goes the old saying, but although some precipitation was reported in Ventura County on Thursday, the rain proved as elusive as any floral display after an arid couple of months.

The National Weather Service issued a special statement shortly after noon Thursday warning of possible hail, gusty winds and brief heavy downpours after a strong shower showed up on radar between Fillmore and Piru on California 126.

Although Newhall in the Santa Clarita Valley east of Fillmore recorded a less than robust 0.1 inch of precipitation, no measurable rain fell in Ventura County.

“There was no rain indicated by the Fillmore-Piru rain gauge,” said Rob Krohn, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, “so it was extremely localized or of extremely short duration or both and that was characteristic of all the storms reported today.”

Krohn said he noticed a few sprinkles at his Simi Valley home and on the Conejo Grade as he drove to work, but any showers that did occur were restricted to unpopulated mountain areas.

An unstable upper level low was blamed for the hard-to-find showers, which hit Orange County and the San Bernardino County mountains with a little more ferocity.

More rain in Ventura County is unlikely soon, and the weekend forecast calls for gradually warming conditions. Temperatures are expected to reach seasonal norms of upper 70s inland and near 70 on the coast by Sunday, Krohn said.

What’s more, the chances of rainfall this spring diminish with every passing day.

“April is when the rainy season really comes to a screeching halt,” Krohn said. “It really becomes unusual to have rain, say, by the third week of April.”