Cooler Conditions Expected Soon

Meteorologist Rea Strange sees “a light at the end of the tunnel” for Ventura County residents who think that since summer has gone, the unseasonable warm, muggy weather should go too.

What began as a hot and humid Wednesday throughout Ventura County eased off slightly by noon as skies everywhere became overcast. But the cloudy skies did not keep highs from reaching into the 90s in the Ojai Valley, and 103 degrees on a Central Avenue time and temperature sign in Fillmore.

The cloudy skies were probably not the proverbial calm before the storm, Strange added, but merely hints of the sprinkles that may dot the county today. The legacy of Hurricane Nora shouldn’t be any more impressive than that of last week’s Hurricane Linda.

“Then it will finally start to cool off Friday,” said Strange, who runs the private Pacific Weather Analysis forecasting service.

The warm weather has helped make for cleaner air, as far as the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District is concerned.

“We’re having relatively low [ozone] numbers compared to the last five years,” said APCD meteorologist Kent Field. “Things are different this season. We haven’t had the conditions that produce higher ozone levels.”

Field said a combination of unusual weather, reformulated gasoline and an ongoing effort by factories and small businesses to reduce pollutants all contribute to the better air.