Summer in the County Is Like Cool, Man, Cool

This has been the coolest summer across Ventura County in eight years, and the coldest on record in the city of Ventura for the month of August, according to area meteorologists.

At least four cities in the county--Ventura, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Ojai--posted temperatures that were about 2.5 degrees lower than the 30-year average for the past three months.

“This is significant, but not record-breaking,” said Tom Johnston, a climatologist with Johnston Weather Watch, which provides data for the National Weather Service. “Anything more than two degrees is significant.”

Inland areas had an average temperature of about 71 degrees during the summer, and this summer the average was about 68. The coastal areas average about 65 degrees, while this summer’s average was 63, Johnston said.

The last time that temperatures were this cool was in 1991 and prior to that was 1975.

Low temperatures, along with the La Nina oceanic condition, have made this summer cool and clear, an unusual combination, according to climatologists. Summer officially ends next week.

Johnston said the most unusual thing about this summer is that June, July and August each had below-average temperatures.

“It’s impressive that all three months were below normal because you usually don’t get that combination,” he said. “But we’ve had below-normal temperatures since February--which is quite a length of time.”

The city of Ventura had an average temperature of 62.6 degrees in August--a number so low that no other year has come within a degree of it in the last 30 years.

Johnston said the bigger picture for the area is the effect of La Nina, which causes the ocean’s surface temperature to fluctuate in the equatorial Pacific. This affects the weather because the prevailing winds come from the west, off the ocean. So colder ocean water makes for colder wind, which lowers the average temperature.

Rea Strange, a meteorologist at Pacific Weather Analysis, said the 2-degree difference is misleading because it is an average of day and night temperatures instead of a look at the highs and lows.

“This summer was so clear and had so little fog,” Strange said. “So the maximum temperatures during the day were probably normal but because of all the clear skies, we had much cooler nights. I would bet that the 2-degree difference is due largely to the cooler nights.”

Strange said that in comparison to the last cool summer--1991--this summer was a dream.

“The thing that is unusual with this summer is that I associate cold summers with an abundance of overcast and very little clearing,” she said. “This was a lovely summer because we had quite a few totally clear days.”

Mild summers have some perks, according to Johnston.

“The air-conditioning is usually on less, so the electric bill is lower,” he said. “There is also less watering of trees and vegetation because the cooler weather means there is less evaporation.”

Meanwhile, Ventura County and the rest of Southern California can expect a winter much like the last one: more chill, clearer nights and drier conditions than normal.

It is the last gasp of a lingering La Nina condition, said Gary Ryan, meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

The Pacific Ocean remains about 1 to 2 degrees cooler than usual along the equator, just enough to derail storms tracking toward the West Coast. Storms that might sometimes swing into Southern California will instead be bumped north and make landfall most often in Oregon and Washington.

The result is below-average rainfall, although nighttime temperatures will be cooler than normal, Ryan said.

“You can expect to see some frost again in Fillmore and Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks this winter, as well as low snow elevations,” he said.

Times staff writer Gary Polakovic contributed to this story.