Flash Flood — Santa Barbara, California

2023-12-21 · near Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California

Event narrative

Significant flooding was reported on Highway 101 at the offramp for Mission Street. Over four feet of water flooded the offramp.

Wider weather episode

A powerful winter storm, fueled by an atmospheric river, brought very heavy rainfall and significant flash flooding to parts of Southwestern California. The heaviest rainfall occurred across the mountains of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties with totals ranging from 5 to 14 inches while coastal and valley areas in these three counties reported 2 to 8 inches of rainfall. Across San Luis Obispo county, 2 to 5 inches of rainfall was reported. Numerous reports of flash flooding and mud and debris flows were reported across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.4258, -119.7190)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1153790. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.