National Weather Service says today’s storm will last through Wednesday morning; schools closed throughout Santa Barbara and Montecito
Clouds hover last weekend above Summerland. Today’s storm is expected to last through Wednesday morning.
Here it comes again: rain and plenty of it.
The National Weather Service said a lot of rain will fall today across Santa Barbara County and throughout Southern California. The storm is expected to last into Wednesday morning.
“This is another very warm atmospheric river storm pulling moisture from thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean,” the weather service said.
Between 2 to 5 inches of rain is expected along the coast and in the valleys. There could be 4 to 8 inches at higher elevations, according to the weather service.
The highest amount of rain will likely fall in southern Santa Barbara County, the weather service said.
A flood watch took effect at 7 this morning in the county and is expected to last until 5 a.m. Wednesday. The heavy rainfall could mean flooding of streams, creeks, rivers and roads.
In addition, gusty winds are predicted.
The storm led to school closures today throughout the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
“Up to an inch of rain will fall between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.,” the school district noted in a news release. “Forecasters are comparing this to the storm on Jan. 9 of this year that forced our last shutdown.”
Santa Barbara City College reported that all of its campuses would be closed today.
And in Montecito, Cold Spring School, Montecito Union School and Our Lady of Mount Carmel School are closed today because of the storm.
Westmont College in Montecito is on spring break.
Meanwhile, the Santa Barbara City Council decided to meet virtually today instead of gathering at city hall as usual. The meeting will start at 2 p.m., and it will air on Channel 18, YouTube or on the council’s page at santabarbaraca.gov.
Like last week’s storm, this one will be warmer than the January rains. Highs are expected to be around 60 throughout the county, and the lows will be in the low to mid-50s, according to the weather service.
On Monday, highs were 61 in Santa Barbara, 62 in Goleta, 67 in Santa Maria, 68 in New Cuyama and 70 in Santa Ynez. Lows were 54 in Santa Barbara and Goleta, 52 in Santa Ynez, 51 in Santa Maria and 47 in New Cuyama.
email: dmason@newspress.com
