(Map of the National Meteorological Service)
The cloudy skies did not rain much in Santa Barbara County on Saturday as the first of three storms blew through the region.
Starting with 4 pm on Saturday, the precipitation locator of the Public Works Department showed that most of the county areas have received less than 0.3 centimeters in the last 24 hours.
“The first of a series of three storm systems will continue to move through the region tonight, then a stronger storm system is expected for Sunday afternoon through Monday, with higher chances of rain and mountain snow.” , said the National Meteorological Service in its forecast discussion.
Dust was reported at higher elevations, and several locations reported hail accumulations.
A colder storm is expected to enter the county on Sunday evening and Monday and local daytime temperatures are expected to drop in the 1950s early next week, according to the National Weather Service.
Snow levels in that storm are expected to be 3,500 feet to 4,000 feet Sunday night and drop to altitudes of 1,500 feet to 2,500 feet on Monday.
A rainbow shines in the sky above Milpas Street in Santa Barbara on Saturday morning. (Brooke Holland / Noozhawk photo)
Windy weather is also forecast, with gusts as high as 20 mph on Sunday evenings and 30 mph on Monday evenings.
The possibility of snow at lower elevations and fine winds means that there is a winter storm clock effective Sunday night through Monday night for the Santa Barbara Mountains, Ventura and Los Angeles County, including San Marcos Pass, San Rafael Wilderness and Dick Smith Wilderness.
A person is paddling a stingher canoe by the waves on Santa Barbara’s Leadbetter Beach on Saturday as storm clouds gather. (Photo by Mike Eliason)
The third storm, forecast to hit Santa Barbara County Wednesday through Friday, is expected to drop significant amounts of rain and snow. The forecasts will be more detailed in the coming days, according to the National Meteorological Service.
Santa Barbara County recently updated its flood risk map and debris flows under the Thomas Fire burn area in Montecito, Summerland and Carpentry. This can be viewed online by clicking here, and the county has more storm preparedness resources available at readysbc.org/storm-ready/.
Click here for the latest weather forecasts for Santa Barbara.
Click here for the latest Santa Maria weather forecasts.
Click here for the latest Lompoc weather forecasts.
Click here for the latest weather forecasts for Santa Ynez Valley.
– Noozhawk Management Editor Giana Magnoli can be contacted at . (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Sign in with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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