Stranded cars and closed roads were widely reported in Santa Barbara after heavy Thursday morning rainfall caused flooding all over town.
And it’s not over yet.
Southern Santa Barbara County has already had a wet week, and the storm is expected to drop several more inches of rain on Thursday into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Downtown Santa Barbara was getting dumped on, with heavy rainfall, recording 1.6 inches of rain in the last hour, as of 9:50 a.m.
There were many reports of vehicles getting stuck in flooded intersections, including low places under freeway overpasses on State, Carrillo and Castillo streets. Some vehicles were stranded and then abandoned by the drivers, according to emergency radio traffic.
Fire and police agencies were conducting car rescues and ordering road closures due to flooding.
VIDEO: #US101 southbound off-ramp at Garden Street in #SantaBarbara. No estimate for opening. https://t.co/Aov6e5SHf4 pic.twitter.com/6AsuxqfAZa
— Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) December 21, 2023
Lower Eastside, lower downtown and waterfront neighborhoods are among the areas in flood-risk zones and often flood during heavy rains.
“Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles,” the NWS said.
Santa Barbara MTD suspended service on several bus routes due to flooding.
The NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning, in effect through 4 p.m. Thursday, for the South Coast.
The message warns of heavy rain, with up to 4 more inches expected on top of the 1-4 inches the area got on Wednesday.
There is widespread roadway flooding and flash flooding “is ongoing or expected to begin shortly,” the NWS said. Flash flooding of creeks and streams, highways, streets and underpasses is possible, and so are mudslides and rockslides.
The warning is in effect through 4 p.m. Thursday for Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Ynez, Carpinteria, Summerland, El Capitan State Beach, Refugio State Beach, Goleta, Highway 154 over San Marcos Pass, Santa Barbara Airport, and Lake Cachuma.
The Montecito Fire Protection District said it had only found a few minor road issues Thursday morning, but expects more rain and wind throughout the day.
“All of our creeks, water ways, and debris basins are doing well and have plenty of capacity left,” the agency said.
Overnight rainfall did not appear to cause significant issues in Santa Barbara County, but major flooding and evacuations were reported in Ventura and Oxnard, which had extreme downpours and a tornado warning.
The Oxnard Civic Center recorded 3 inches of rain in one hour, the NWS said.
A multi-county Flood Watch is in effect through 4 a.m. Friday warning of minor flooding impacts, and a Flood Advisory specifically points to additional storm impacts for the Lompoc Valley, the Santa Ynez Valley, the Gaviota Coast, the Goleta Valley, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland, and the Carpinteria Valley.
The Flash Flood Warning for eastern Santa Barbara to Carpinteria expired Thursday morning.
The city of Santa Barbara activated its free emergency storm parking so residents can leave vehicles in Lot 2 (on Chapala and Canon Perdido streets) until Saturday for free if they register for the storm parking program.
The FEMA flood map is here, which shows areas at-risk of flooding.
Check Caltrans’ Quickmap for highway and state route closures here.
Check Santa Barbara County road status and closures on the Public Works map here.
Find sandbag filling stations here.
Click here to view the latest Santa Barbara weather forecast.