Edhat Staff
Update by the City of Santa Barbara
March 10, 2023
National Weather Service Meteorologists say the threat of significant flooding continues for Santa Barbara County, but should decrease Friday evening into Saturday. A Flood Advisory has been issued for Santa Barbara County until 7 p.m. Friday, March 10, 2023. Heavy rainfall could trigger shallow debris flows near recent wildfire burn scars and rises in small streams and normally dry arroyos. We could also see water over roadways in places and isolated thunderstorms Friday night.
A Flood Watch for Santa Barbara County, remains in effect through 4 a.m. Saturday, March 11. According to the National Weather Service, a Flood Watch is issued when flooding is possible. ·
Avoid low-lying and flood-prone areas, areas with standing water, and areas near creeks or streams. If you are in one of these areas be prepared to go to higher ground. Visit www.weather.gov/lox for more information.
A Wind Advisory has also been issued for Santa Barbara County, effective through 12 p.m. Friday, March 10. Winds of 20-30mph with gusts up to 50mph expected. Secure outdoor furniture. Please use caution while driving. Winds may cause downed trees and power outages could be possible.
The Public Works Department is closely monitoring the storm and ensuring creeks are clear of debris. Currently there are no areas of concern, but rainfall can be unpredictable.
Please contact the Public Works Streets division for clogged/blocked storm drains or streets related emergencies at (805) 564-5454.
The Sandbag Station is open until 3:00 p.m. Friday, located at 401 E. Yanonali Street. Please click the following link for sandbag information: Sandbag Information | City of Santa Barbara (santabarbaraca.gov)
If you or someone you know needs shelter, there are several options in the City:
- 26 inclement weather beds at PATH (816 Cacique) available Friday, March 10, starting at 4 p.m. on a first come, first serve basis.
- Freedom Warming Center March 10-11 at First United Methodist Church – 305 East Anapamu St, starting at 6 p.m. each night.
- Santa Barbara Rescue Mission 535 E. Yanonali St. During the rain event guests will be able to stay indoors during the day.
County Braces for Storm Impacts
By the edhat staff
March 9, 2023
Santa Barbara County officials are bracing for the latest storm by opening warming shelters, offering sandbags, and notifying people sleeping in riverbeds to seek higher ground.
On Thursday afternoon the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office stated a County Air Support helicopter conducted fly over announcements along the Santa Maria River notifying anyone in the riverbed that water levels are expected to rise, the area is unsafe, and there is temporary shelter available.
Santa Barbara City firefighters dropped off sandbags to the Starr King Parent-Child Workshop Annual Rummage fundraising event taking place in the Sears parking lot this Saturday. A self-service sandbag station is available at 401 E. Yanonali Street. Call (805) 564-5454 for more information.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department reports a staffing increase of 38 personnel and prepositioned equipment to allow surge capacity storm responses. These resources are spread throughout the county including Type 6 Engines in Carpinteria and Lompoc, Type 3 Engines in Sisquoc and Buellton, handcrew at Cachuma, and heavy equipment in Los Alamos.
“The predicted storm temperatures are expected to be warmer conditions associated with a Pineapple Express. Warmer rain has the potential to melt backcountry snowpack increasing water levels in local rivers and creeks. Please stay away from local creeks, rivers and embankments,” wrote the County Fire Department.
Warming Centers for those that are unhoused are also open through March 10. More information below:
SANTA BARBARA SOUTH COUNTY
- SANTA BARBARA
First United Methodist Church – 305 E. Anapamu St - CARPINTERIA
Carpinteria Community Church – 1111 Vallecito Road
SANTA BARBARA NORTH COUNTY
-
LOMPOC
Peace Lutheran – 1000 West Ocean - SANTA MARIA
Atkinson Community Church – North 1000 Railroad Ave
Warming Center Hotline: (805) 324-2372
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Shifting toward Carp/Ventura and LA soon on satellite view of what’s coming offshore, and the cloud density out there is decreasing.
Pretty mellow overnight.
0.74″ overnight (0.60 since midnight) in North Noleta, raining lightly at 7 am. A whopping 27.02″ this rain season!
Floods up North looks likely. Already pushing 11″ in 24hrs. on the peaks above the Big Sur coast, and with so many recent burns it’s likely Hwy.1 won’t be open anytime soon. Sacramento region rivers nearing flood stage. Over 8″ at one sensor near Yosemite (NW of Strawberry & NE of Arnold). Hopefully we’re nearing peak rainfall for this storm soon.
13.21″ near Visalia on the gauge at Atwell Camp in the Sierra.
Yes, torrential rain is falling on the western slopes of the southern sierras. There’s already lots of reports of washouts and impassible roads. This is just the beginning. Once that lower elevation snow all melts who knows what the flow in the San Joaquin river will look like.
All the latest from Daniel Swain’s Twitter feed
https://twitter.com/Weather_West?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
It’s relatively tame north of Sacramento and Tahoe right now, but the rivers are beginning to rage in the San Joaquin valley.
3.4kCFS Solvang flow from Cachuma release, so I guess the County is making room for the heavier rainfall showing up on satellite & radar approaching from offshore. It’s angled slightly South of the almost due West we’ve had so far, probably resulting in more rain on the South Coast in coming hours. Still only forecast to be a bit over 2″ storm total. Of course, still forecast to get another 2″+ starting Mon. eve.
.11″ 154@101 24 hour total so far, tho 2.15″ more is still forecast by NWS before it stops Sat. morning. Doesn’t look like much on radar or IR satellite at the moment, but there are still fairly big squalls popping up offshore. Happily still no heavy downpours in the forecast. Burton Mesa near La Purisma is reporting .54″ for top spot in SB Co., and Santa Ynez is top in the valley at .28″ so we’ll see what totals look like after the next 24 hours.
>1″/hour 154@101 right now, with strong bands coming ashore on radar – esp. a small area between Santa Maria & Lompoc. But the larges moderate to heavy radar returns are headed directly toward the South Coast. 24hr. totals in the Toro Cyn area are fairly high.