Another round of rain will soak the Central Coast starting early Monday, adding to the already impressive rainfall totals from recent storms.

The next storm will arrive early Monday bringing steady moderate rain into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. 

Rainfall totals likely will be 1-2 inches, with up to 3 inches for the Santa Ynez Mountains.

The new storm also will bring a 20% chance of thunderstorms. 

“With abundant rainfall the past 48 hours, any additional brief heavy downpours could more easily trigger minor flooding and rockslides,” NWS said.

Additionally, brief gusty winds will be possible with isolated heavier showers could more easily cause additional downed trees due to very wet soils.

The county already has seen a number of fallen trees, minor rockslides and significant flooding this weekend due to recent rains.

After Saturday night downpours, Santa Barbara roadways flooded in multiple locations, immobilizing vehicles and trapping some drivers. At one point, rainfall rates reached 1 inch per hour. Police reported a mudslide on Loma Alta Drive, blocking one lane, and lingering flooded intersections into Sunday.

County emergency officials sent out alerts that more downpours were possible that could cause more flooding and some shallow debris flows in recent burn areas.

“Residents are urged to remain vigilant, monitor changing weather and road conditions, and exercise caution,” the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management said.

The cold storm also will mean 1-3 inches of snow will fall on higher elevations  above 6,000 feet, possibly dipping as low as 4,500 feet Monday night. 

Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.

Storm Drenched South Coast

Since the rain started Thursday, the storms dumped as much as 12.26 inches of rain on San Marcos Pass and 8.14 inches in downtown Santa Barbara, according to the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District monitoring stations.

The tallies show how the storms slammed the South Coast and dropped less rain on areas in North County.

Rain for other areas over this storm, as of Sunday night at 6 p.m., ranged from 4.28 inches in Buellton, 6.26 inches in Carpinteria, 7.05 inches for Goleta, 3.38 in Lompoc, 4.11 in Los Alamos, 8.14 in Santa Barbara, 3.3 in Santa Maria, 5.36 in Santa Ynez and 2.06 in Cuyama.  

The countywide normal-to-date rainfall stands at 448%, the Flood Control District reported, and it was at 164% a week ago.

The  countywide percentage of normal water year rainfall was 42% as of Sunday morning, a number that assumes no additional precipitation falls during the rest the measuring period spanning from Sept. 1, 2025 to Aug. 31, 2026.

These storms are likely to boost the region’s reservoirs as well, which have room for additional water with Jameson Reservoir at 79.8% of capacity, Lake Cachuma at 75.7% and Gibraltar Reservoir at 12.8%. 

The level of Twitchell Reservoir, east of the Santa Maria , has dropped below the sensor with data not available as of Sunday, county staff said. 

Reservoirs will have more chance to see levels rise later in the week as water flows in from rivers, creeks and the rest of the rain-soaked watersheds.

According to the NWS, Wednesday is expected to bring a respite from the rain before another storm hits Thursday and Friday. 

NWS forecasters said the late-week storm appears likely to be a light to moderate event, although there is considerable uncertainty regarding rain amounts, timing and intensities.