Flood Watch Issued for Santa Barbara County Ahead of Approaching Storm

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a flood watch for Santa Barbara County ahead of another storm making its way toward California. The storm is expected to hit Sunday around 4 p.m. and last through Wednesday morning, bringing with it the possibility of flooding caused by excessive rainfall that could pose a “significant threat to life or property,” the NWS stated.

The flood watch, which is a step below the severity of a flood warning, covers the South Coast, coastal valley, and mountains of Santa Barbara County, as well as western San Luis Obispo County and central Ventura County. This weekend’s storm comes on the heels of another soaker earlier this month that triggered life-threatening flooding and shut down Santa Barbara streets and its airport, forced residents near recent wildfire burn areas and downtown to evacuate their homes, and caused the deck of a bluff-top apartment to collapse in Isla Vista. However, no deaths, injuries, or rescues related to the storm were reported in the county, thanks in part to the county receiving about half the rain amounts that were initially projected, with the other half redirecting to Los Angeles and Orange counties instead. Since then, County Public Works has dredged Atascadero, Carnero, and San Pedro creeks near the Goleta Slough to keep the sediment-clogged creeks flowing to the sea, and is monitoring debris basins.

Total rainfall amounts for the storm arriving this Sunday are expected to be less than the last deluge, with two to five inches anticipated over lower elevations and four to eight inches over the foothills and mountains, the NWS said. But the ground is already soaked, and rainfall rates could exceed one inch per hour in isolated locations, which combined with the projected rainfall totals brings the potential for flooding, debris flows, and landslides.

Jean Yamamura contributed reporting to this story.