Santa Barbara County got more rain than expected overnight Wednesday into Thursday, and another major storm is headed for the region this weekend.
Most South County areas received between 2 to 4 inches of rain, with some mountain locations getting more than 5 inches, according to Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
North County areas generally received between .75 and 1.5 inches of rain.
San Marcos Pass was the county’s wettest spot, with 5.66 inches recorded. Gibraltar Dam got the second most amount of rain with 4.3 inches, while Goleta received 3.01 inches, according to the county rainfall and reservoir summary.
Other totals included 3.09 inches in Carpinteria, 2.85 inches in Santa Barbara, 2.73 inches at UCSB, 2.42 inches at Lake Cachuma, and 2.22 inches in Montecito.
Minor flooding occurred at various locations from Wednesday night into early Thursday, but no major damage was reported.
Meanwhile, mountain areas, Gaviota, and Lompoc experienced wind gusts of 40 to 60 mph, while Pt. Conception recorded gusts to 72 mph, Kittell said.
Showers were expected to continue on and off through Friday, with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Kittell told Noozhawk that there is a chance of brief heavy downpours on Friday that could result in a quarter of an inch of rain.
Thursday and Friday could see northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph, with some gusts up to 40 mph, Kittell said.
The next big storm is expected to begin Saturday night and last through Tuesday, with the heaviest rain likely Sunday night into Monday.
Widespread rainfall totals of 3-6 inches along the coast and in inland areas are likely, with some forecasting models predicting twice that amount, especially in mountains locations, according to the NWS’s forecast discussion.
“There’`’s a 30-50% chances that some south-facing mountain areas could see as much as 15 inches of rain with this storm, and some coast/valley areas could see 6-10 inches as a storm total through Monday evening,” according to the forecast discussion. “This storm could end up generating unprecedented amounts of rain across a widespread area!”
“That’s going to be the focus of the storm, that Sunday-through-Monday time period,” Kittell said. “We’re expecting around 24 hours of fairly steady moderate to heavy rain, with few if any breaks.”
Kittell said that the intensity of the storm shouldn’t be more than what the county saw on Wednesday night, but the duration of the rainfall does raise concerns.
“We had that heavy rain last night. It lasted for about six hours, but we’re talking about a good 18 to 24 hours of that type of rain,” Kittell said.
“We’re concerned about flooding of urban areas and creeks, and maybe some rivers as well.”
Blustery conditions are expected in the upcoming storm, potentially leading to downed trees and power outages, according to Kittell.
In mountain areas above 6,000 feet, one to three feet of snow are expected. By Wednesday, a blanket of snow likely will be visible on the mountains, according to Kittell.
The city of Goleta closed the Maria Ygnacio bike path from the north side of the Hollister crossing into the south side due to flooding. The bike path will reopen when it is safe to do so, according to a news release from the city.
Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Click here for real-time rainfall totals from the county Public Works Department.
