SANTA CRUZ >> The storm is over and while a few clouds still lurk on the horizon, the transition period from wet to dry is underway in Santa Cruz County.

The last gasp of a relatively mild rainstorm passed through the Central Coast region Tuesday with the forecast indicating sunny skies for the next few days. Aside from potential for a light coastal drizzle this coming weekend, meteorologists with the National Weather Service now predict dry weather will dominate for the foreseeable future.

“This is the end of the rainy season, we are likely wrapping up now,” said weather service meteorologist Rachel Kennedy. “But we are still in that transition season, so we might get one more storm. But that depends on how things progress through the rest of this month.”

Kennedy characterized this recent storm as run-of-the-mill and explained that predictions from last week appear to have significantly overestimated its impact.

“Last week the forecast had several days of rain with a moderate risk of heavy precipitation,” said Kennedy. “Versus what we’re actually seeing is more of an isolated thunderstorm threat with fairly light rain totals overall.”

Sentinel weather observers reported .62 inches of rain over the past 24 hours in La Selva Beach, .58 inches in Ben Lomond and .55 inches in Soquel.

Kennedy said the weather service’s partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center anticipate the first half of April in the county will hold below normal levels of precipitation and above normal temperatures — all signs that point to spring having finally sprung.

While historical rainfall averages at outposts in Santa Cruz County were unavailable Tuesday, Dial Hoang, another meteorologist with the weather service, told the Sentinel that a water gauge at the Salinas Municipal Airport had collected 10.98 inches of rain since the start of the season in October. That’s just shy of the historical average of 11 inches at that same station, Hoang said.

“Usually the December through February period is when we get most of our rainfall. It does continue into March and then April is when we start to transition into a drier pattern,” said Hoang. “June, July and August — that’s the period when, typically, any rain will be very notable.”