Summer Goes Out Like Lion Thanks to Storm Hilary : Weather: Up to half an inch of rain falls in Upper Ojai in heaviest downpour since April. Lightning strikes cause outages throughout the county.

Lightning flashed. Rain poured. Wind whipped.

Blame it on the tropics, meteorologists say. The remnants of Tropical Storm Hilary off Baja California moved north into the area’s cooler waters, bringing Tuesday’s moisture, showers and thunderstorms.

Rain totals from the storm varied from about a tenth of an inch in Simi Valley to half an inch in the Upper Ojai, according to Ventura County Flood District officials. It was the heaviest rain since late April, but still not nearly enough to bring rain totals up to normal levels for this time of year.

With two days before the start of fall, it was the tropical humidity, not the heat, that made it feel so unseasonably warm after June gloom stretched through most of the summer, officials said.

Temperatures hovered around the 70s on the coast, and reached the mid-90s inland during the day. The humidity reached a moist 78% throughout the county. Forecasters expect those temperatures to continue through the next couple of days.

Lightning during the short midday storm hit at least one tree in Ojai--a fire that was quickly extinguished--and several power poles throughout the county, according to a Southern California Edison official. About 250 Edison customers--in pockets of Ventura, Camarillo, Oxnard and Thousand Oaks--were expected to be without power at least through the evening.

In addition, about 16,000 Edison customers throughout the county incurred half-minute power interruptions Tuesday morning and afternoon.

“There’s nothing we can really do to prevent this,” said Nancy Williams, a region manager at the power company. “When it’s lightning you just never know where it’s going to strike. It just goes for the highest point.”

It might be the cool summer that made Monday seem so warm, said Clint Simpson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Oxnard. Otherwise, what might seem a freak thunderstorm is really not that unusual, Simpson said.

“This happens from time to time about this time of year,” he said. “So, we get to have a little lightning show, and hear some thunder.”

Simpson predicted more possible lightning storms this afternoon. There is a 20% chance of rain this evening and Thursday.

A lightning storm in early September last year ignited brush fires and sent tornado-like winds toppling more that 12 power poles on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, but Tuesday’s storm did far less damage.

There were several fender-benders, but none that could be attributed directly to wet streets, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Meanwhile, winds from the tropical storm continued to keep Ventura County’s air quality at its best in years, said Kent Field, meteorologist for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District.

Clouds and moisture help to reduce smog, and a low-pressure trough off the coast kept ozone levels low, he said.

“The weather’s the dominant influence,” Field said. “But just because it appears to be clearer doesn’t mean it will continue. You’re not guaranteed this weather every year.”

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control Department for the 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m. Tuesday . 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 0.12 6.65 13.20 Casitas Dam 0.08 8.57 23.26 Casitas Rec. Center 0.20 9.64 23.09 Fillmore N/A 6.04 18.66 Matilija Dam 0.20 9.96 26.78 Moorpark 0.20 5.37 14.68 Ojai 0.19 8.54 21.39 Upper Ojai 0.51 9.93 23.54 Oxnard 0.28 6.58 14.51 Piru N/A 6.40 17.25 Port Hueneme N/A 6.58 13.99 Santa Paula 0.24 8.84 17.43 Simi Valley 0.08 7.03 14.42 Thousand Oaks N/A 7.06 15.32 Ventura Govt. Center 0.20 8.13 15.99

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