Some pea-sized hail fell in northern Santa Barbara County Monday, and more of the stuff could drop as thunderstorms move across the area, according to the National Weather Service.
Santa Maria was getting the brunt of the stronger thunderstorms Monday afternoon, and the South Coast was expected to see its biggest rainfall around the same time, although a chance of thunderstorms would remain throughout the day, said Kathy Hoxsie, a weather specialist with the weather service office in Oxnard.
Hail reported in Santa Maria was measured at about a quarter of an inch in size.
“The strongest storms right now are still to the west, ” she said. “The storms that just dropped the hail in Santa Maria are marching directly east across the county.
“I can see at least three or four other good-looking cells that are still off the coast to the west. I would say that we still have the possibility of getting hail as the storms move across your area as well.”
As for rainfall totals, Hoxsie said accumulation was expected to vary and be relatively light — in line with the amount of water the low-pressure system dropped locally over the weekend.
“It’ll be feast or famine for those under storms,” she said. “If you’re directly under the thunderstorm, you could get a good shot of rain.”
By late afternoon, rainfall totals included Santa Barbara, 0.18 inches; Montecito, 0.24; Goleta, 0.10; Santa Maria, 0.08; Lompoc, 0.21 and zero inches in Santa Ynez.
Temperatures lingered around 60 degrees across the county Monday, and she said residents shouldn’t expect to see cloudless skies until Tuesday morning.
“The rest of the week looks nice,” Hoxsie said, with a dry, slow warm-up and sunny skies expected into the weekend.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
