Swift-Moving Storm Brings Quarter-Inch of Rain to Area

More than a quarter-inch of rain fell in some areas of Ventura County on Friday, bringing wet roadways, high surf and cooler than normal temperatures to a county still experiencing a much drier rainy season than usual.

There is a slight chance of more rain late Sunday morning, said Jonathan Slemmer, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

The forecast calls for dense fog along the coast today that should burn off by noon and make way for high clouds and afternoon temperatures in the 60s.

“We’re in the rainy season so this is fairly typical but temperature-wise it’s been slightly cooler,” Slemmer said.

The small but swift storm from the northeast started about 11 p.m. Thursday and ended about 2 p.m. Friday. The heaviest rain fell in upper Matilija Canyon near Ojai, where more than one-third of an inch was recorded.

Rainfall in Piru, Fillmore and Santa Paula measured 0.28 of an inch and coastal areas received slightly more than one-tenth of an inch, according to county hydrologist Dolores Taylor.

The California Highway Patrol and other local law enforcement agencies responded to a dozen minor fender-benders on county roadways. No serious crashes were reported.

In Newbury Park, where more than one-third of an inch fell between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the rain kept some shoppers at home.

“We normally have a lot of business . . . but it was definitely slower while it rained,” said Shane Kelly, a sales manager at the Newbury Park Bicycle Shop.

It’s expected to be clear for biking today, but snow lovers may want to take advantage of a dusting in the far western reaches of the county in Los Padres National Forest.

As of late Friday, there was more than 2 feet of snow in the recreation area at Mt. Pinos, which straddles the Kern County line.

“It’s not like last weekend when it came and dumped, and we had those flood conditions above Ojai,” forest spokesman Joe Pasinato said.

Most roads leading to Mt. Pinos are open, Pasinato said.

The rain Thursday and Friday was the first of the month, falling five months into a rainfall season that began Oct. 1 and has been significantly drier than past years, Taylor said.

For instance, between Oct. 1, 1997, and Feb. 5, 1998, 21.48 inches of rain had fallen on the County Government Center in Ventura, contrasted with 3.94 inches during the same period in 1998 and 1999.

“We are starting to creep up on it a little, but the average rainfall throughout the county is still only about 45% of normal,” Taylor said.