As Santa Barbara County’s rainy week begins, the National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch for the region in effect Tuesday night through early Friday morning.
Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo county, Ventura county, and Los Angeles county, beginning Tuesday night through late Thursday night.
Moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms are expected in the upcoming storm, according to the NWS.
Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Los Angeles counties are expected to get 2-4 inches of rain in the next few days and 4-8 inches of rain are possible along south-facing foothills and coastal slopes. That could include South County’s Santa Ynez Mountains.
Potential impacts from the rain include extensive roadway flooding, creek and stream flooding, and flash flooding and debris flows in recent wildfire burn areas. There’s also strong potential for mudslides on canyon and mountain roadways, the NWS said.
David Sweet, meteorologist with the NWS, said that the amount of rain expected in the next 48 hours in low elevation areas is why they issued the Flood Watch.
Sweet noted that anyone driving should take extra precautions while traveling, such as allowing more time to get to their destination, leaving extra room between themselves and the car in front, and driving slower than usual.
The Flood Watch is in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday to 4 a.m. Friday.
The county Office of Emergency Management sent out an advisory weather message Tuesday and advised people to stay away from rivers and creeks and areas known to flood.
The FEMA flood map is here, which shows areas at-risk of flooding.
This Week’s Forecast
The South Coast including Santa Barbara and Goleta is expected to get showers until Friday with a possibility of thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday, which can host higher-intensity rainfall.
The area is forecasted to get 20-30 mph winds as well.
As of midday Tuesday, Santa Barbara had received 0.74 inches of rain in the past two days, and Goleta had 0.44 inches of rain, according to Public Works rainfall monitors.
The Santa Maria Valley Santa Maria is also expecting rain and a possibility of thunderstorms through Thursday. Friday has a 40% chance of rain and there’s a slight chance of showers on Saturday. Santa Maria has gotten 0.35 inches of rain in the past two days, according to rainfall monitors.
Lompoc can also expect rain and the possibility of thunderstorms through Thursday night and it has a 50% chance of showers on Friday and a slight chance of showers on Saturday. Lompoc has gotten 0.41 inches of rain as of midday Tuesday.
