Forecast calls for precipitation today, but National Weather says there’ll be no rain Thursday in Santa Barbara County
Clouds loom over the horizon Tuesday as cacti and fields blanket the landscape at western Goleta off Farren Road. The National Weather Service predicts there will be rain today in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
Sunshine graced the sky above the Pacific Ocean Tuesday. That was the comforting view from Farren Road in Goleta.
But if you turned around and looked toward the Santa Ynez Mountains, you saw something else.
Clouds on the horizon.
And that set the stage for today’s expected rain throughout Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The National Weather Service is predicting rain everywhere, from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez to Santa Maria to Cuyama.
And with the rain comes more of the cold. The weather service’s forecast calls for highs in the mid 50s throughout the county, except for Cuyama where the high is expected to be 49. Lows are forecast to be in the low 40s in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Lompoc and even lower in Santa Ynez, where it will be a chilling 38 degrees, and Cuyama, which is near freezing at 34.
On Tuesday, things were a bit warmer. The highs were 61 in Santa Barbara, 59 in Goleta, 54 in Santa Maria and Santa Ynez, 55 in Lompoc and 47 in New Cuyama. Lows were 47 in Santa Barbara, 43 in Goleta, 39 in Santa Maria, 37 in Santa Ynez and Lompoc, and 36 in New Cuyama.
According to the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department and its monitoring stations, rain fell everywhere Monday in Santa Barbara County. But the heaviest amount was in the South Coast, where there was around a half inch.
Meanwhile, a look toward the horizon showed not only clouds ahead of today’s rain, but a sign of winter. Snow could be seen in the distance in the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Snow is seen in the distance in the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Thursday will see relief from the rain, at least in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, where the National Weather Service predicts partly cloudy conditions. But rain is expected to fall again Thursday in Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
The forecast, though, calls for nothing more than partly cloudy conditions in all four counties on Friday. And according to the weather service, 2022 will start Saturday on the right note: sunshine.
Keep your jackets handy, though.
“Temperatures will remain significantly below average,” the National Weather Service reported Tuesday.
Lows will continue to be in the 40s and the highs in the 50s. It’ll be even colder in Santa Ynez, with a predicted low below freezing: 31. Brrrr.
email: dmason@newspress.com
