The Coast Is Clear--for Now

After a brief soaking Thursday morning, storm clouds moved east and skies began to clear, paving the way for a stretch of dry weather expected to last for at least a few days.

However, the strong surf stirred up by this week’s storms will continue to pummel the Ventura County coastline for the next couple of days, forecasters say.

The latest storm marked the third time the county has been pelted with rain in four days.

Meteorologists believe it is too early to determine if the batch of storms can be linked to the El Nino phenomenon, which some expect to bring fierce winter weather.

El Nino or no El Nino, November is typically the time when Southern Californians get their first wet taste of winter. And this year has proved no different, meteorologists said.

“This is the time of year,” said Dedric Walker of the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “It’s time for us to get rain.”

For now, residents can put the drizzly past few days behind them.

The National Weather Service is predicting increasingly clear and dry weather through Saturday. Daytime temperatures are expected to be in the 60s.

Around the county on Thursday, Thousand Oaks was 59 and Simi Valley was 58. West county residents enjoyed warmer weather, with Oxnard topping out at 65 and Ventura at 63.

Meanwhile, waves as high as 8 feet slammed Ventura County beaches Thursday. That was much bigger than normal but not big enough for the National Weather Service to issue a warning.

The ocean swells have gained momentum from a combination of the season’s strong tide and the winds that spurred the recent storms, said weather service meteorologist Bruce Rockwell.

Still, Rockwell is optimistic that Ventura County residents will stay dry at least through the weekend.

“The storms are kind of slowing down, so I don’t think it’s going to get much worse,” Rockwell said. “I think we’re done with rain for the next couple of days.”

That break should bring relief to local motorists and the California Highway Patrol, who dealt with numerous traffic snarls on rain-soaked roads this week. The CHP reported few weather-related problems in Ventura County on Thursday.

The pleasant forecast was good news for younger residents, too.

At the Kids Kampus child care center in Thousand Oaks, owner Lauren Marine said youngsters were happy to see some sunshine after a rainy morning.

“They took turns running the bike path to get their wiggles out,” Marine said.

But the kids had to stop there.

“They wanted to go in the sand,” Marine added. “We said, ‘No--it’s mud.’ ”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Thursday. 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 0.23 0.44 1.19 Casitas Dam 0.36 1.10 1.76 Casitas Rec. Center 0.36 1.10 1.88 Fillmore N/A N/A 1.66 Matilija Dam 0.36 1.70 1.94 Moorpark N/A N/A 1.24 Ojai 0.31 1.17 1.56 Upper Ojai 0.31 1.22 1.70 Oxnard 0.32 0.84 1.05 Piru 0.23 0.81 1.33 Port Hueneme 0.13 0.35 1.10 Santa Paula 0.35 0.88 1.46 Simi Valley N/A N/A 1.11 Thousand Oaks 0.28 0.64 1.19 Ventura Govt. Center 0.27 0.85 1.20

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Correspondent David Greenberg contributed to this article.

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* HILLSIDE RISK: Officials worry that rain could loosen soil behind San Buenaventura Mission, where a school is planned. B4