Residents of northern Santa Barbara County can expect small amounts of rain tonight into Friday morning.
The National Weather Service in Oxnard calls for “a quiet couple of days for the most part,” with slightly cooler temperatures and breezy north winds at times.
According to National Weather Service Meteorologist Joe Sirard, the forecast rainfall is under one-quarter of an inch, so, “really not a whole lot.”
“It’s not going to be much rain. It’ll be another kind of weak system,” he told the News-Press on Wednesday.
A few sprinkles could be seen as south as the city of Santa Barbara early Friday, but measurable amounts are expected to stay north of the Santa Ynez Range.
The weekend will also bring cooler than normal temperatures, with lows in the 40s and highs generally in the upper 50s and into the 60s. Mr. Sirard described it as, “for the most part, not terribly cool, but still slightly below normal overall.”
Gusty northerly winds are expected Saturday and Sunday, with the strongest gusts across southern Santa Barbara County. Wind advisories may be needed for those areas.
However, besides the wind, the weekend will be pleasant with sunny skies.
Mr. Sirard referred to this season as a “dismal season rain-wise.” The Santa Barbara Municipal Airport has only had 7.26 inches of rain since July 1, compared to the standard 14.69 inches.
This time a year ago, the airport had recorded 8.61 inches of rain, so while Santa Barbara is slightly behind last year’s rainfall, Mr. Sirard said a lot of the rain came later in March and April of 2020.
“It looks dry. We don’t really see any big storms coming. If anything, we should get another wind event … No rain, just wind, even though we want rain,” he said. “It’s pretty dismal, but it is what it is.”
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
