Storm Drenches County, With More Rain Possible : Weather: About a third of an inch of precipitation falls. No major slides are listed, but cleanup efforts hampered.

A winter storm dropped more than a third of an inch of rain on parts of Ventura County on Tuesday, meteorologists said, moving out by midafternoon and leaving wind-swept skies in its wake.

Skies were expected to remain mostly clear throughout the day today, but a new storm front could move in by late Thursday or Friday, bringing a chance of more rain by the weekend, said Curtis Brack of WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

Tuesday’s fast-moving storm system left higher amounts of rain in some fire-damaged areas in the hills above the Pacific Coast Highway, including more than half an inch near Deer Creek Road in the Santa Monica Mountains, meteorologists said. However, no significant mudslides were reported, according to the California Highway Patrol and officials from the county Flood Control District. The rain hampered ongoing efforts to clean up debris left from Saturday’s mudslides, including a slide that blocked a steep, winding portion of Potrero Road east of Lewis Road near the Thousand Oaks city limits.

The section of the road was still closed late Tuesday because of the rain, said Ray Rangel, a maintenance division chief for the county’s Public Works Department. The slide was not large, but mud continued to ooze onto the road from the steep hillsides on both sides, making cleanup efforts difficult and driving dangerous, Rangel said.

The rain also hindered cleanup operations on Lynn Road near Wendy Drive in Thousand Oaks, where Saturday’s mudslides caused property damage and threatened homes, authorities said. A crew from the California Conservation Corps reinforced drainage ditches with sandbags Tuesday and helped to clear mud and debris from Deer Valley Avenue and Lynn Road.

Elsewhere across the county, the storm took some residents by surprise.

“I left my umbrella in the car,” said Elaine Hanson of Ventura as she walked through the Government Center parking lot with a shawl draped over her head. “You’d think I would have known better, I work for the flood control (district).”

While the cold wind and rain sent most people scampering indoors, Margarita Castellanos, a flower vendor whose stand is on Olivas Park Drive near the Olivas Park Golf Course, stayed huddled under the canopy of her flower stand throughout the storm.

“The rain didn’t bother me,” she said.

It also did not seem to bother surfers, who were out in force enjoying a large northwest swell that is expected to last through today.

As the thick band of storm clouds cleared, surfers and a few enterprising fishermen at the Ventura Pier were treated to warm sunshine and island views.

While using a grappling hook tied to a rope, one elderly man, who identified himself only as Red, collected mussels from pilings on the pier. He said the rain had sent him home earlier in the day, and he was one of the first people who ventured back out on the pier when the storm clouds moved out.

“This is the time to get out here,” he said as he loaded mussels into a crate strapped onto the back of a rickety red bicycle. He gave some of his mussels to another fisherman to use as bait.

“They’re the best kind,” he said, before riding off for home.

County Rainfall

Here are rainfall figures from the Ventura County Flood Control District for the 24-hour period ending 5 p.m. Tuesday. Oct. 1 is the beginning of the official rain year.

Rainfall Rainfall Normal rainfall Location last 24 hours since Oct. 1 to date Camarillo 0.35 1.97 3.20 Casitas Dam 0.31 3.20 5.35 El Rio 0.28 2.05 3.24 Fillmore 0.28 2.35 4.58 Moorpark 0.28 1.94 3.35 Ojai 0.28 2.76 4.48 Upper Ojai 0.31 3.17 4.80 Oxnard 0.47 1.46 3.07 Piru 0.31 1.93 3.68 Santa Paula 0.24 2.25 4.08 Simi Valley 0.28 2.30 3.12 Thousand Oaks 0.20 2.26 3.35 Ventura Govt. Center 0.39 2.37 3.43