It’s gonna be a wet ride for Santa Claus in Santa Barbara County. 

Christmas week is expected to bring rain and chilly temperatures, and possibly snow in the mountains above Santa Barbara.

“We will definitely see some rain on Christmas,” said Curt Kaplan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 

He said snow levels also could come down as low as 4,000 feet in the hills above Santa Barbara.

The rain is expected to hit Sunday morning, Kaplan said, with as much as a half-inch on the coast and 1½ inches in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

He said the next two days are likely to feature periods of heavy showers before slowing down Monday night. The rain should go away for most of Tuesday, before a new system comes through on Christmas Eve and continues into Christmas Day, Kaplan said. 

He said the rain isn’t expected to be heavy enough to cause any collateral damage. 

“At this point, we are not anticipating any issues related to the Cave Fire,” Kaplan said. 

Low temperatures are likely to be in the low to mid-40s with highs in the upper 50s.

So, if you’re a last-minute Christmas shopper, bring out the umbrellas. 

“We are going to be in a rainy period for a week,” he said. 

— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.