A surfer rides the waves at the entrance to Santa Barbara Harbor after a current rainstorm.  (Mike Eliason photo)

[Click here for a related photo gallery]

Santa Barbara County awoke Thursday to another soggy day, but there should be some sunny skies before the next round of rain hits late Friday and early Saturday.

Forecasters were calling for a 50-percent chance of rain Thursday, with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 10 a.m.

Multiple lightning strikes early Thursday as seen from Shoreline Drive in Santa Barbara.

Multiple lightning strikes early Thursday as seen from Shoreline Drive in Santa Barbara. (Mike Eliason photo)

That drops to 20 percent on Thursday night.

Friday should be mostly sunny, but there is a 60-70 percent chance of rain overnight and into Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

Advisories were in effect for High Surf and Coastal Flooding through midday Thursday, as storm surf rides in on high tides.

Surf of 8-12 feet was expected, with breakers to 16 feet possible.

The largest surf was expected on southwest facing beaches including Rincon Point and El Capitan.

[Click here for the latest forecast]

— 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.

Bo Sailor of Goleta gets startled while taking photos of El Nino waves as they slam into the sea wall on Channel Drive Thursday morning. He jumped back to avoid getting wet.

Bo Sailor of Goleta gets startled while taking photos of El Nino waves as they slam into the sea wall on Channel Drive Thursday morning. He jumped back to avoid getting wet. (Mike Eliason photo)

— Noozhawk editor in chief Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.