Showers Are Expected to Fall Throughout the County Today

Ventura, Oxnard and Ojai recorded a sprinkle of rain Saturday afternoon, the precursor to showers forecast throughout the county today.

As of 7 p.m. Saturday, 0.08 of an inch was recorded in Ojai and a trace of rain had dampened streets in Ventura and Oxnard, weather officials said. Early afternoon winds topping 20 mph bent trees and rattled small cars on the Ventura Freeway.

“There’s a frontal system that’s moving into California and across the state, and it’s bringing rain from the Pacific,” said meteorologist Guy Pearson of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts to The Times.

More than 2 inches had fallen by Saturday afternoon in Placer County in the northern part of the state. By sundown Saturday, a light rain was falling in Santa Barbara County.

The rain was expected to start falling throughout Ventura County by early today, bringing from one-quarter to half an inch to most cities and up to 2 inches in the mountains.

“It will be off and on all day long,” Pearson said.

No major winds are expected, but there was a 50% chance the rain could last through early Monday, forecasters said.

“After Monday, you should start to dry out and have partly cloudy to fair skies through Thursday,” he said.

High temperatures throughout the county reached into the mid-60s Saturday with lows in the low 40s. The low temperature in Ojai Saturday was 39 degrees, Pearson said.

High and low temperatures today and Monday are expected to dip slightly.