Hail coats a roadway in a western Goleta neighborhood on Thanksgiving morning. Numerous vehicle crashes were reported on nearby Highway 101 from the lengthy hailstorm, while snow was reported in local mountains. 
A double rainbow graces the sky over the Santa Barbara Mission on Thursday. 
Snow was falling in the Cave Fire burn area along East Camino Cielo in the mountains above Santa Barbara Thursday morning. 
Snow on the Santa Ynez Mountains as seen from the Santa Barbara Airport. 
Snow covers rocks and charred vegetation in the Cave Fire burn area. 
Wild berries get a coating of snow. 
Charred vegetation stands in stark contrast to newly fallen snow in the Cave Fire burn area.
A cold front moving through Santa Barbara County spawned a lengthy hailstorm on the western edge of Goleta on Thanksgiving morning, leading to several vehicle crashes on Highway 101.
The main area affected was between Winchester Canyon in Goleta and Dos Pueblos Ranch, about four miles up the coast to the west.
Four to five crashes occurred, including at least one rollover, after vehicles hit the hail and ice on Highway 101 and skidded off the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
No serious injuries were reported.
There also was a spate of crashes in the same area late Wednesday night, related to a separate hail storm, CHP Sgt. Jim Richards told Noozhawk.
“Given the inclement weather, we encourage folks to allow a little extra time while traveling, slow down, make sure their tires are properly inflated, and avoid distractions,” Richards said.
Interstate 5 over the Grapevine north of Los Angeles was shut down by snow Thursday morning, shifting more traffic onto Highway 101 through the Central Coast.
The storm also was dropping snow on the Santa Ynez and San Rafael mountain ranges, with snow levels down to 2,500 feet, according to Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Storm rain totals in most areas of the county were expected to be between 1 and 2 inches, he said.
Forecasters were calling for a 100 percent chance of rain Thanksgiving day, dropping to 50 percent Thursday night and 30 percent on Friday.
As of 9 a.m., 24-hour rain totals included 0.77 inches in Santa Barbara, 0.69 inches in Montecito, 0.65 inches in Carpinteria, 0.57 inches in Santa Ynez, 0.53 inches in Goleta, 0.41 inches in Santa Maria and 0.37 inches in Lompoc.
Steady rain Thursday morning was expected to give way to showery conditions through Friday, with another storm predicted to hit the area Saturday afternoon into Sunday.
Daytime highs are expected to be chilly — in the low 50s — with overnight lows in the low 30s.
» Click here for the latest Santa Barbara area forecast from the National Weather Service.
» Click here for Santa Barbara County real-time rainfall totals.
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— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
