Lake Cachuma has risen almost 5 feet this week, and reservoirs further up the Santa Ynez River were spilling Thursday morning.
The Montecito Water District’s Jameson Reservoir and the city of Santa Barbara’s Gibraltar Reservoir both rose to their spill levels, according to County Public Works monitoring.
The region hit 297% of its normal rainfall to date as of Thursday, and Bradbury Dam at Lake Cachuma had hit 357% of its normal rainfall: a whopping 17 inches since Sept. 1.
Lake Cachuma was at 82% of capacity and about 9 feet below spill level Thursday morning. The reservoir filled to capacity and spilled in February 2024 and February 2023.
San Marcos Pass, in the mountains above Santa Barbara, has received more than 27 inches of rain since September.
Three-day storm totals as of Thursday morning for local areas include:
- Santa Maria, 2.28 inches
- Lompoc, 4.41 inches
- Cuyama, 2.41 inches
- Solvang, 5.43 inches
- Goleta, 4.38 inches
- Santa Barbara, 4.76 inches
- Carpinteria, 4.07 inches
Lots of rain but no major incidents were reported locally Wednesday and early Thursday.
The Santa Barbara Airport closed temporarily after runway flooding early Thursday, but reopened around 9:30 a.m.
Thursday’s forecast calls for a 100% chance of showers, with another half to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible, with a similar amount overnight into Friday.
Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
Click here for real-time rainfall totals.
Get storm-related information from the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management on the ReadySBC.org website here.