Voters cast ballots on cloudy day
Rain causes flooding on a street near State Street in Santa Barbara in this photo taken by a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Long-awaited fall rain — something more than a sprinkle — finally fell Tuesday as voters visited the polls on a cold, gray Election Day.
Rain was off and on throughout the day in Santa Barbara County, but gloomy clouds continued to blanket the sky.
Nearly a half inch of rain fell in Goleta. And while the National Weather Service reported less precipitation for Santa Barbara, there was enough rain to cause some flooding of streets.
Lompoc experienced 0.6 inch of rain, and Santa Maria saw 0.8 inch of rain, according to the weather service.
In New Cuyama, 0.44 inch of rain was recorded.
Things were drier in Santa Ynez, which experienced 0.04 inch rain.
Umbrellas become a common sight Tuesday outside the News-Press in downtown Santa Barbara.
And those numbers don’t include the rain that fell after 5 p.m.
Tuesday was definitely cold. Highs were 60 in Santa Barbara, 61 in Goleta and 59 in Lompoc. The weather service reported a high of 57 for Santa Maria, Santa Ynez and New Cuyama.
The lows were 52 in Santa Barbara, 51 in Goleta, 49 in Lompoc, 48 in both Santa Maria and Santa Ynez, and 43 in New Cuyama.
Not so much as a speck of light breaks through the clouds in De la Guerra Plaza
Similar temperatures and rainfall were reported in Ventura County.
And up north in San Luis Obispo County, Hearst Castle saw more than an inch of rain.
The weather service says that’s it for the rain. Today’s forecast calls for nothing but sunshine in the Santa Barbara area and partly cloudy skies in the rest of the county.
But don’t put away your jacket.
The weather service predicts today’s highs will be 61 in Santa Barbara, 60 at UCSB, 59 in Santa Ynez, 58 in Lompoc, 55 in Santa Maria and a chilly 53 in Cuyama.
Today’s lows are expected to be 44 in Santa Barbara, 43 at UCSB, 42 in both Santa Maria and Lompoc, and 41 in Santa Ynez.
And New Cuyama?
The low there today will be — brrrr! — 36. That’s according to the weather service.
On Thursday, the National Weather Service expects sunshine throughout Santa Barbara County, followed by partly cloudy skies everywhere on Friday and partly cloudy skies in most of the county on Saturday and Sunday.
The highs are expected to get a few degrees warmer this weekend.
email: dmason@newspress.com
