Season’s First Storm a Drop in the Bucket

A giant comma-shaped band of clouds, the first winter storm of the season, tiptoed through Ventura County, dumping as much as half an inch of rain through Sunday morning, but did little other than punctuate that winter is on its way.

Fueled by an upper-level low pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska, the storm arrived late Saturday with moderate but steady rains, gusty winds and cool temperatures.

“This kind of storm is pretty typical for this time of year,” said Kevin Stenson, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times. “It wasn’t particularly strong and moved out pretty fast, but it did dump some rain.”

The storm gave way to partly cloudy skies Sunday with continued clearing expected through the early part of the week. Temperatures are expected to hover in the mid- to upper 60s along the coast, with highs in the 70s for inland communities.

Though dropping enough rain to make streets and highways slick, the storm did little other than feed thirsty lawns.

California Highway Patrol officials said they braced for a rash of rain-related accidents during the weekend but recorded only a few, none of which resulted in injury.

“We skated through this one pretty well,” said CHP dispatcher Bob Inman. “All in all, it was kind of slow considering the weather.”

Police agencies throughout the county reported only a few minor fender benders.

Officials at Southern California Edison said the rains caused a spate of “arcing” outages in neighborhoods around the county, but those areas were quickly brought back on line.

“We always see that happening during the first real storm of the season,” said Steve Henson, communications director for Southern California Edison. “But I wouldn’t say it was anything major. . . . We had a lot more serious problems down in Los Angeles where a few transformers blew.”

Arcing usually occurs during heavy rains, when electric currents jump from one power line to another and short out the system.

Ventura County Fire Department officials said the rain was an added bit of insurance against any major brush fires erupting over the next several days, but wasn’t enough to bring an end to the fire season.

For some residents the rains interrupted weekend plans, while for others they were a welcome surprise.

Rather than cursing the clouds and precipitation, David Blass and Jennifer Nelson were upset the storm didn’t hang around longer.

“We were hoping it would rain all day so we’d have to stay inside,” said Blass of Ventura. “We really just wanted to watch movies all day.”

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures for the season’s first measurable shower from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Sunday . Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours to date Camarillo 0.31 0.86 Casitas Dam 0.59 1.26 Casitas Rec. Center 0.0 1.34 Fillmore 0.0 1.17 Matilija Dam 0.47 1.40 Moorpark 0.0 0.89 Ojai 0.43 1.12 Upper Ojai 0.28 1.21 Oxnard 0.43 0.74 Piru 0.43 0.96 Port Hueneme 0.39 0.79 Santa Paula 0.51 1.04 Simi Valley 0.43 0.80 Thousand Oaks 0.47 0.84 Ventura Govt. Center 0.47 0.85

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