Strong Winds, Cold Air Move Across County

Predicted rain, hail and funnel clouds did not appear in Ventura County on Saturday after overnight showers, but winds gusted up to 40 mph and overnight temperatures dipped into the 40s, the Oxnard-based National Weather Service reported.

A 40% chance of showers is expected this afternoon, with temperatures in the 60s and winds up to 25 mph, National Weather Service specialist Bill Hoffer said.

“The winds are pretty strong,” Hoffer said. “We’re getting a bit of everything around here.”

Monday should be sunny and cool with highs in the low 60s, Hoffer said.

On Saturday, Southern California Edison reported at least 2,700 customers in Thousand Oaks and 40 in Fillmore were without electricity for part of the afternoon. The cause of the outage, according to Ventura County fire officials, most likely was a tree that fell onto a power line near Lynn Ranch about 1 p.m.

In Ventura, “We haven’t had any major storm-related incidents, but if the winds kick up any more we could have some problems,” said Lt. Brad Talbot of the Ventura Police Department. “When the strong winds hit that wet, saturated soil, we get trees that come down.”

City police departments around the county received calls about business and car alarms triggered by wind gusts.

The California Highway Patrol wind advisory remained in effect all day Saturday. Officers advised against travel in high-profile vehicles.

“The winds are 30 to 40 knots today, and that’s gale force,” said Seaman Eddie Edmonds of the Coast Guard. “It’s enough so the Harbor Patrol has the flags up warning boats not to go out.” Forty knots is about 46 mph.

Edmonds said a heavy surf advisory is in effect through noon today because of anticipated 14-foot swells.

In northern Ventura County, at least 6 inches of powdery snow fell at 8,800-foot-high Mt. Pinos late Friday and early Saturday, according to a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.

She said conditions were superb for cross-country skiing on the mountain, which already had a 5-foot base of snow. Drivers heading up Mt. Pinos must have four-wheel drive or chains on their tires, she said.

At lower elevations, up to half an inch of rain fell in the county between late Friday and early Saturday. Casitas Dam got soaked with half an inch. Other spots, including Camarillo, Moorpark and the Ventura Government Center, had about four-tenths of an inch.

Saturday’s cold, blustery weather stemmed from a “Mixmaster effect of pressure systems,” Hoffer said.

High pressure air over the Pacific Ocean moves clockwise and mixes with land-based low pressure air systems moving in the opposite direction, he said.

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Saturday. 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 0.39 30.34 11.71 Casitas Dam 0.51 52.25 20.35 Casitas Rec. Center 0.39 50.22 20.57 Fillmore 0.28 38.04 16.59 Matilija Dam 0.39 53.97 23.19 Moorpark 0.39 30.61 12.73 Ojai 0.20 41.58 18.51 Upper Ojai 0.24 45.52 20.18 Oxnard 0.24 33.22 12.68 Piru 0.28 33.47 14.92 Port Hueneme 0.16 30.17 12.26 Santa Paula 0.31 35.83 15.55 Simi Valley 0.24 32.56 12.47 Thousand Oaks 0.24 28.88 13.31 Ventura Govt. Center 0.39 37.85 14.13

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