Record Rainfall Year Comes as No Surprise

On a sunny Tuesday, the National Weather Service released statistics confirming what residents have suspected for months--several Ventura County cities experienced the wettest rainfall season in recorded history.

Of five cities with record books, four had rainfall totals measuring more than 200% of the county’s approximate average of 15 inches, said Greg Ryan, a meteorologist for the weather service.

The cities setting records were Ventura, Simi Valley, Santa Paula and Ojai.

To arrive at the county average, the weather service also factors annual rainfall totals from three other Ventura County cities that do not have record books, Ryan said.

The service’s rainfall season runs from July 1 to June 30. A majority of rain fell in the first three months of this year with the brunt dropping in February, Ryan said.

“Those cities got more in those months than most places get all year on the East Coast,” Ryan noted. “Overall, it’s been the wettest year in county history.”

In Ventura, 42.70 inches fell, or 298% of the city’s average of 14.32 inches. The rainfall was the most since the city started keeping such records in 1867, Ryan said. The old record was 36.71 inches set between 1940-41.

In Simi Valley, 40.05 inches, or 276% of the city average of 14.49 inches, broke all records set in the 30 years rainfall has been logged there. The old record was 32.90 inches, which fell between 1977-78.

That same rainfall year, 1977-78, Ojai logged 47.32 inches, a record that was broken this season when 48.68 inches fell, Ryan said. The new record is 235% of that city’s average of 20.70 inches.

In Santa Paula, 44.33 inches fell, or 255% of the city’s average of 17.39 inches. The old record was 37.46 set in 1977-78.

The one city where history wasn’t made this year is Oxnard, home of the National Weather Service office, Ryan said.

Because of different measuring sites and devices, the Ventura County Flood Control District lists 12 cities with record-setting measurements.

Both Ryan and Dolores Taylor, senior hydrologist for the county’s flood control office, said El Nino-fueled storms were behind the record-setting numbers.

“There was an awful lot of energy available because of El Nino,” Taylor said of continual rainfall.