Five Inches of Rain Soaks the Central Coast in First Wave of Storms
John Palminteri
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Since Thursday afternoon impressive rainfall totals have soaked Santa Barbara County and the Central Coast.
The Friday morning totals during the first break in a steady – and at times, very strong rain system – showed Refugio Pass with 5.36 of rain and San Marcos Pass above Goleta with 4.23 inches of rain. Santa Barbara had 2.64 inches and Carpinteria was at 1.85. In the northern region, Los Alamos had 2.53 inches and Cachuma Lake had a measurement of 3.3 inches.
This falls in line with forecasts of up to six inches of rain by the end of the weekend in some areas and with the preliminary numbers showing high levels already, the final totals will likely exceed predictions.
Several incidents stopped traffic on Highway 101 in the morning commute. They included a rollover in Summerland in the southbound lanes around Evans Ave. Northbound at Turnpike a crash into the center divider snarled traffic on the very busy drive as well going the other direction.
Several city streets were waterlogged making driving challenging on Gutierrez St near Olive St., Yanonali St. in the Funk Zone and Cabrillo Boulevard where palm trees were coming apart.
Mission creek which has been backed up with sand for months, blew out and the flow was strong from the mountains to the ocean. It has also put mounds of debris along the coast.
Some visitors who did not expect the rain were strolling with umbrellas but wearing shorts. Some just had on t-shirts. Many came out during a mid-morning weather break to go up and down Stearns Wharf to see the impacts of the waves, the ocean surge and the frolicking birds in their new ponds.
The area was a new stop off for a large flock of pelicans.
One couple from Los Angeles strolled Stearns Wharf under an umbrella during a drizzle. Cherrie Laris was wearing a long coat and said, “I come out here a lot, so I like it. I wish it was sunny just because he’s visiting, so I wanted him to see sunny California, but that’s okay. We’re still enjoying.”
Caitlin Carabello said her drive up from the south was slow and they made sure to get to Santa Barbara safely. With light rain came a change. “Let’s walk around. Be cozy. That’s what this type of weather is for.”
Even seeing clouds over head, Tarek Hassoun said, ” I expected a sunny day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get what we expected. It’s fine for a walk.”
On the beach with his service dog Kylo, Rueben Montijo said they slept in his vehicle last night. Even with the pounding rain he was able to deal with it. “It was pretty good, it was pretty loud. We ended up going to sleep after awhile.” The unsheltered resident said, it helped to have his dog with him.
Mission Creek was dry for months but not anymore. It was moving and blew out the sand barrier at the waterfront. As it emptied, so did some accumulated trash that was strewn across the area by the currents.
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