Santa Barbara County sees chilly conditions and sprinkles
Patches of blue sky break through the clouds Monday morning in Santa Barbara, which saw a trace of precipitation.
Brrrr!
Santa Barbara County was colder than usual Monday, with the highs no warmer than the 50s. The lows were in the mid- or low 40s and upper 30s.
There were also some scattered sprinkles on a partly cloudy (sometimes mostly cloudy) day when you clearly didn’t need an umbrella. According to the National Weather Service, the total rainfall was just 0.02 inch in Goleta and Santa Barbara, 0.01 inch in Lompoc and just a trace in Santa Maria. The highest amount of the rain in the county fell in New Cuyama, with 0.08 inch.
The bigger story is the chill. Highs were just 58 in Santa Barbara and Goleta, 54 in Santa Ynez, 53 in Santa Maria and 52 in New Cuyama.
The lows were 37 in Santa Maria and New Cuyama, 41 in Santa Ynez, 46 in Goleta and 47 in Santa Barbara.
Today’s forecast calls for sunny skies and, for the most part, warmer temperatures. The National Weather Service predicts highs of 62 in Santa Barbara, 61 in Santa Maria and at UCSB, 60 in Lompoc, 59 in Santa Ynez and 54 in Cuyama. Expected lows are 43 in Santa Barbara, 34 in Santa Maria, 33 in Santa Ynez and 32 in Lompoc.
The low will go below freezing today in Cuyama to a chilling 29 degrees, according to the weather service.
Similar highs and lows are expected for the rest of this week.
There’s a 10% chance of rain today in the Santa Barbara area, Santa Ynez and Cuyama, but the weather service said there’s no chance of the wet stuff in Lompoc or Santa Maria.
For the rest of the week, conditions will vary from sunny to partly cloudy in the county, with a 20% chance of rain Friday in Santa Maria and Lompoc. The chance of rain will vary from 10% to 20% in those two cities through Monday.
The National Weather Service doesn’t see much of a chance for rain this weekend for Santa Barbara until Sunday night and during the day on Monday. Even then, it will only be a 10% chance of precipitation.
A 10% chance of rain is also expected throughout the day and night on Sunday and Monday in Santa Ynez.
email: dmason@newspress.com
