Another storm soaked Santa Barbara County on Saturday, dropping between 0.75 and 2 inches of rain on most areas and causing more troubles in local communities. 

Forecasters had called for moderate to heavy rain from Saturday’s storm.

“I think we’re more or less on target,” Mike Wofford from the National Weather Service office in Oxnard said.

A power outage left 545 customers in the dark in downtown Santa Barbara starting at 11 a.m. Saturday with restoration expected by 11 p.m., according to Southern California Edison.

The highly anticipated release of water from Cachuma Dam had not started on Saturday, according to Matt Young from the Santa Barbara County Water Agency. 

The Bureau of Reclamation reportedly will provide an update on Sunday. 

That release will increase the flow of water in the Santa Ynez River.

Cachuma’s levels rose dramatically during the week, hitting 87.5%, while Gibraltar and Jameson reservoirs were 100% full, as of Saturday morning’s county report. 

Twitchell Reservoir, east of Santa Maria, had reached 40%. 

The rain on Saturday added to earlier problems and created damage in new areas. 

For instance, a road washout on Miguelito Canyon Road at mile marker 6.2 prompted a shelter-in-place warning on Saturday, according to Santa Barbara County officials, who called the road impassable on Saturday. 

Ortega Ridge Road reportedly had a mudslide blocking the westbound lanes. 

On an open segment of Highway 154 at Foxen Canyon Road, roadway erosion occurred near the bridge, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol on Saturday evening.

A different section of Highway 154, between Highways 246 and 192, has been closed in both directions for days because of huge rock slides, with no estimate provided for reopening. 

Since the ground remains saturated from earlier storms, it didn’t take much rain before flooding in many traditional problem roadways led to temporary closures again Saturday. 

Standing water on State Street at the underpass and flooding in the first block of Calle Cesar Chavez prompted the Santa Barbara Police Department to warn drivers to avoid those areas Saturday.

County officials issued a reminder to be wary of creeks filled with water since seemingly tranquil flows can carry a deadly force.

“Don’t underestimate the power of moving water that can cause injuries and deaths,” authorities said.

Rainfall rates for the 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. Saturday were 2 inches in downtown Santa Barbara, 0.77 of an inch in Buellton, 0.98 in Carpinteria, 1.51 at the Goleta fire station, 0.92 at Lompoc City Hall, 1.08 in Los Alamos, 1.65 in Montecito, 1.11 in Orcutt and 0.77 in Santa Maria, according to the Santa Barbara County Water Agency.

San Marcos Pass appeared to receive some of the heaviest rain Saturday with 3.09 inches. In the past 30 days, San Marcos Pass has received more than 30 inches of rain.

Following a mostly dry Sunday, more rain is expected to begin falling Sunday night and into Monday, according to the forecasters.

The storm will bring up to 1 inch of rain at the coast and 1 to 2 inches in mountains and hills. Peak rain rates will reach 0.25 to 0.5 inch per hour. 

Gusty winds between 25 and 45 mph will accompany the next round of rain along with colder temperatures.  

That means snow levels will drop to 4,500- to 5,000-foot elevation. 

However, relief is in sight. Dry weather will return Tuesday and last through the rest of the week and into the following week.