Fair Skies to Finally Return to Sopping Area

Ventura County’s rain-soaked residents, who caught only fleeting glimpses of the sun and blue skies Sunday, can expect to see a lot more fair weather today.

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service predict that the heavyweight Pacific storm front, which has socked the California coast with close to 3 inches of rain since Friday, will roll out of the area early today.

And that’s good news for an already rain-saturated county.

The National Weather Service on Saturday issued flash-flood watches for the burn areas of Ventura and Los Angeles counties. That watch was lifted early Sunday.

Ventura County firefighters responded to 25 calls of flooding Sunday. A Fire Department spokeswoman said most of the calls were from the Ojai area where streams began to breach their banks Sunday morning and in the afternoon. No injuries or damage were reported, she said.

The Ventura County Flood Control District reported only minor flooding throughout the county, but the amount of rain over the weekend had officials concerned.

The California Highway Patrol said rain-slick streets caused many minor traffic accidents throughout the county. Officers responded to 12 on Sunday. No injuries were reported.

For area surfers, the storm delivered a bounty. The storm’s low-pressure system resulted in some high surf along the coast.

Weather service meteorologist Bill Hoffer said the storm will pound county beaches with 5- to 8-foot surf today with 10-foot waves possible for west-facing beaches. The swell will start to decrease Tuesday.

Temperatures today are expected to climb into the mid- to high 60s, with lows in the mid-50s. By Tuesday, temperatures will reach the low 70s.

The National Weather Service predicted Sunday that the fair weather should hold throughout the week, with a weak Santa Ana wind condition developing Wednesday.

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County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Sunday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

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Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.20 12.84 6.82 Casitas Dam 1.22 25.30 11.61 Casitas Rec. Center 3:03 NA 11:53 Fillmore 1.61 19.67 9.48 Matilija Dam 1.34 29.27 12.90 Moorpark 0.71 14.01 7.33 Ojai NA NA 10.32 Upper Ojai 1.54 25.12 11.04 Oxnard 0.47 13.65 7.12 Piru 1.06 NA 8.48 Port Hueneme 0.24 11.86 7.02 Santa Paula 1.02 18.20 8.71 Simi Valley 0.79 13.87 7.01 Thousand Oaks 0.59 14.44 7.53 Ventura Govt. Center 0.24 15.47 7.88

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