The storm that was forecast to roll through Santa Barbara County on Saturday came and went with little evidence that it had been here at all. It did strike with a bang in the mountains above Montecito, which received about the only measurable rainfall of the day.
A low-pressure system that arrived Friday evening stayed through early afternoon Saturday. It made the biggest impression just after 8 a.m., however, when house-rattling thunder followed flashes of bright lightning over 3,200-foot Montecito Peak.
According to the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department, just over a half-inch of rain was recorded at Montecito’s Cold Springs debris basin on East Mountain Drive west of Ashley Road. White Ledge Peak behind Carpinteria and Gibraltar Reservoir each logged just under a half-inch.
A handful of other county rain gauges recorded trace amounts, but most were empty.
Now that that storm has passed, clear skies — and a warming trend — are in the forecast through the next week.
The National Weather Service is expecting sunshine and high temperatures in the upper 60s on Sunday with daytime highs in the 70s through the upcoming weekend.
» Click here for the complete National Weather Service forecast.
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— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.