Santa Barbara received more than a half-inch of rain Monday, and the National Weather Service is forecasting a 50 percent chance of showers Tuesday with the rain tapering off in the evening.
Doppler radar picked up a strong storm moving at 15 mph north of Vandenberg Air Force Base just after 8 p.m. Monday. In the storm’s wake, NWS said rainfall rates could exceed a quarter-inch per hour.
The Santa Barbara area has now recorded over eight inches of rain since last July, 2.56 inches below average. An inch of rain fell on Santa Barbara in the past 24 hours, with an inch and a quarter reported in the Tea Fire burn area in the Montecito foothills.
Perhaps because of the Presidents’ Day holiday, few rain-related traffic problems were reported Monday, although hail and slick conditions were observed by motorists traveling on Highway 154 over San Marcos Pass.
After Tuesday, the rest of the work week should see mostly sunny skies and temperatures near 70.
Write to lcooper@noozhawk.com
