Santa Barbara County is in for a prolonged stretch of wet weather starting Thursday afternoon, with steady rain and the potential for heavier downpours through Saturday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Rain is expected to begin late Thursday and continue off and on for more than two days, said Ryan Kittell, senior meteorologist with NWS in Oxnard.

“It’s not going to be raining every single hour,” Kittell said, “but more often than not, it’s going to be raining” between Thursday afternoon and Saturday night.

Most areas across the county are forecast to receive 1.5-3 inches of total rainfall, with higher amounts in the Santa Ynez Mountains, where totals could reach 3-6 inches, Kittell said.

The most intense periods of rain are expected Thursday night and again Saturday morning through the afternoon, with rainfall rates in lower elevations ranging between a quarter and half an inch per hour. He said heavier, more localized rates are possible if a thunderstorm forms over any area.

Along with the rain, gusty southeasterly winds are expected Thursday, especially in the mountains. Wind gusts may reach 20-30 mph in populated areas and up to 45 mph in higher elevations, forecasters said.

Surf is expected to build Friday, though conditions will be “not great for surfing,” Kittell said, due to a short-period wind swell. Waves are forecast to reach 3-5 feet along the South Coast and 8-10 feet on the Central Coast.

Showers are expected to taper off Saturday night into Sunday, with more scattered and occasional rainfall likely as the weekend ends. Another chance of rain is possible Monday, forecasters said.

Daytime temperatures across the county are expected to stay in the low-60s well into next week, with overnight lows in the lower-to mid-50s, the NWS said.

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