Cold Front May Bring More Rain

Much of Ventura County was pelted with up to half an inch of rain Saturday, and the precipitation may return today before skies clear, forecasters said.

Oxnard saw the most rain with 0.52 of an inch and Simi Valley the least with 0.15 of an inch, said National Weather Service meteorologist Bruce Rockwell.

Ventura and Ojai each got about a third of an inch, and Thousand Oaks and Point Mugu about a quarter of an inch, he said.

The weekend’s rain and occasional claps of thunder are attributable to a weak cold front moving through the West.

Though there is a 60% chance of rain today, any precipitation should be intermittent, Rockwell said.

Monday’s forecast includes possible showers in the morning but those should clear to sunny skies by afternoon, Rockwell said.

While the rain poured Saturday, crews from the Ventura County Fire Department created 10-foot-high sand berms to protect homes along Ocean Drive on Silver Strand Beach.

“We were originally planning to build 4-foot berms,” said spokeswoman Vicki Crabtree.

But weather conditions--and predictions of future winter storms--prompted the fire crews to increase the height, she said.

It will take a few days to finish the protective slopes of sand, which are three-quarters of a mile long, Crabtree said.

The Fire Department is working with Channel Islands Harbor on preventing sand erosion in the area.

Last week, the harbor patrol built a berm from the 1600 to the 2100 block of Ocean Drive.

Harbor officials will go out again in mid-December to construct higher and longer berms.

Not everyone was hard at work Saturday.

Before his 9 a.m. shift at San Buenaventura State Beach began--and before the rain came down--lifeguard Brian Ketterer surfed 8-foot swells. “There were quite a few people out in the morning,” he said. “The surf was good and the water is still warm.”

However, when it neared the noon hour--when the downpour began--Ketterer found himself practically alone at his post by the pier.

“People cleared out by afternoon,” he said.