Season’s Heaviest Rainfall Blankets Area : Weather: Nordhoff Ridge above Ojai receives more than 3 inches. But water and agricultural officials do not expect more than a brief respite from the drought.

The storm that drenched Ventura County this week came in like a lamb and went out like a lamb, bringing a second day of sorely needed precipitation to the area Friday.

No other storms, however, are on the horizon. An approaching weather front could bring clouds as early as Sunday, but most of the precipitation is expected to miss Southern California, forecasters said.

Roads stayed open and electricity remained undimmed Friday as a steady, light drizzle blanketed most of the county from dawn until dusk. Even Ojai, parts of which received 2 or more inches of rain during the two-day showers, escaped without any mudslides, authorities said.

“The rain has been very tender to us,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Lt. John Brockus said. “Everything’s been fine.”

California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Utter said falling debris was scattered on Highway 150 between the Santa Barbara County-Ventura County line and Ojai, but the two-lane road remained open. A few rocks also fell on California 33, and heavy fog was reported on the Conejo Grade about 8 p.m.

Clouds are expected to clear by midday today as the storm moves inland, bringing clear skies and overnight temperatures in the 40s and lower 50s.

The subtropical front that crept in from Hawaii Wednesday night continued until nearly nightfall Friday.

It was the heaviest rainfall since the season began Oct. 1.

By late Friday afternoon, the wettest spot in the county, according to flood control district monitors, was Nordhoff Ridge above Ojai, where a rain gauge measured more than 3 inches, senior county hydrologist Dolores Taylor said. Ventura and Camarillo were on the low end, with only about a half-inch of rain.

Water and agricultural officials, who had hoped the storm would shower the county with several inches, were disappointed.

“We’ve had about an inch and a quarter out at the lake,” John Johnson, Casitas Municipal Water District general manager, said. “That’s very minimal. It’s not much at all.”

Farmers around the county welcomed the rain but did not expect more than a brief respite from the drought.

The rain is “nice, but we need 20 times that. We need 19 more storms like this,” said Terry Schaeffer, agricultural meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Santa Paula. “I’d rather see a deluge.”

Still, cattle ranchers and alfalfa farmers who depend on rain for irrigation appreciate any precipitation, he said.

Jim Rush, co-owner of the High Winds Ranch management service, which oversees about 400 acres of livestock ranches in Ojai, said the rain will allow pasture land to flourish without watering.

“Without the rain, we’d have to resort to feeding the cattle hay, which is very expensive,” Rush said. “This is a good beginning.”