Pair of Storms Expected to Bring Rain, Snow

Back-to-back winter storms are expected to hit Ventura County beginning tonight, bringing another round of steady rain and mountain snowfall through Monday.

The first front is expected to arrive tonight and drop as much as three-quarters of an inch of rain before tapering off to scattered showers Sunday afternoon.

Up to half a foot of new snow is expected in local mountains above 6,000 feet. Forecasters said another storm will probably bring heavier rainfall Monday.

Though the storms will bring substantial rain to the area, they are weaker than a slow-moving front earlier this week that dumped nearly 6 inches of rain in some inland areas, damaged strawberry fields and closed part of California 33 because of snow.

The two new storms originated in the Gulf of Alaska but have shifted to warmer Pacific waters and are likely to bring higher temperatures.

“Taking a more southerly track tends to bring a little warmer rain,” said Ray Tanabe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

As the sky becomes increasingly cloudy today, coastal highs are expected in the low to mid-60s, and overnight lows in the mid to upper-40s. Similar temperatures are expected Sunday.

Forecasters said Monday’s storm will probably bring slightly cooler overnight temperatures, with lows dipping into the upper 30s to mid-40s along the coast.

Frosty temperatures are expected in mountain areas, with lows in the upper-20s to low-30s and highs in the mid-40s.

The break in the weather Friday allowed road crews to reopen portions of California 33 that were closed between Wheeler Gorge Campground and Lockwood Valley Road.

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Because the new snowfall will remain in higher elevations, it is not expected to affect the highway. But chains will be required for travel between Pine Mountain and Lockwood Valley Road.

While sun and beach lovers may wilt over the news of another storm, county farmers welcomed the forecast.

“For the citrus and avocado people, we can use it,” said Bob Pinkerton, president of the Ventura County Farm Bureau.

But strawberry growers said the rain would slow harvesting, because the fields are too muddy.

Still, with no rain forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, growers expected good harvesting weather before a new storm arrives Thursday.

“We’d rather have it dry and sunny, of course, but these kind of delays come with the territory in February,” said David Murray, general manager of the Oxnard division of Coastal Berry. “Rain this month is not a surprise.”