Winter weather visits SY Valley

 

 

Snow, record rainfall, and damaging wind have given residents of the Santa Ynez Valley a winter they will remember.

The wild weather also caused numerous traffic accidents on area roadways, closing freeways for hours and making mountain roads treacherous and slick. More rain is forecast for the weekend of Feb. 2-4.

Twice during the week, on Jan. 22 and again on Jan. 26, record rainfall was measured, with a total of 10.44 inches recorded for January in Santa Barbara and 7.01 inches in Santa Maria for the month.

 

The heavy rain prompted flash flood warnings and high tide reports, which stayed in effect most of the week, and left a blanket of snow at elevations of 1600 feet, covering the foothills around the Santa Ynez Valley with one to five inches. More than 15 inches of rain was recorded on top of San Marcos Pass during the week.

Several roads in the county were closed because of flooding, including Highway 1 near Lompoc.

 

Highway 101 northbound from Santa Barbara to Buellton was closed Jan. 23 when a tractor-trailer jackknifed just north of the Gaviota Tunnel about 9 a.m. The California Highway Patrol reported that the big rig came to rest off the roadway, partially in Gaviota Creek. That same day snow fell on the San Marcos Pass, prompting the CHP to close Highway 154 early in the afternoon – while Highway 101 was still closed – causing motorists to be stranded in Santa Barbara for several hours until one lane was opened at 5 p.m. on Highway 101 northbound.

That same day Santa Barbara County rescue crews had to pull a driver to safety after he tried to cross the swollen Gaviota Creek near Hollister Ranch. The man was driving a pickup truck pulling a horse trailer loaded with three horses. A cable had to be used to pull the pickup and horses out of the creek.

 

Wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour battered the South Coast for days during the week, giving way to tornado warnings from the National Weather Service, and water spouts, which came ashore at Point Mugu and tore the roof off of a hangar at the naval air station.

The wind also caused power outages in Santa Barbara, Solvang and Santa Maria. More than 20,000 persons were without power for several hours on Jan. 25 in Santa Barbara. In Solvang and Santa Ynez on Jan. 26 the power was out for only about an hour. Santa Barbara County Park officials closed Lake Cachuma to boaters on Jan. 25 because of high winds. However, the campground remained open. The lake level rose two feet during the week.

 

Branches and trees were downed in Solvang and Buellton on Jan. 26, requiring crews from the cities to clear the streets early on Jan. 27.

 

The National Weather Service has issued a warning for the week of Jan. 31 – Feb. 6, predicting rain and strong winds with freezing temperatures, which will produce wind chill temperatures near zero in the mountains. In addition to the wind and cold temperatures, the storm is expected to bring light snow to the higher elevations and even across the Cuyama and Antelope valleys and on the foothills areas. Wind guests over 50 miles per hour are likely.