Flash Flood — Santa Barbara, California

2005-02-21 · near South Portion, Santa Barbara, California

Wider weather episode

A powerful Pacific storm tapped into a subtropical moisture source to produce heavy rain and flash flooding across Southwestern California. Overall, rainfall totals ranged from 4 to 8 inches over coastal areas to between 10 and 20 inches in the mountains. In Ventura county, State Route 150 was closed at the Dennison Grade due to flash flooding and mudslides. In Los Angeles county, numerous roadways were closed due to mudslide and flash flooding including Interstates 5 and 10, Highway 101 in Hollywood, North Topanga Canyon Road in the San Fernando Valley, Malibu Canyon Road near Malibu and East Colima Road in Walnut. In Santa Barbara county, flash flooding and mudslides closed down Highway 101 at Bates Road. With such heavy rainfall, both the Santa Clara River and the Santa Ynez River exceeded their respective flood stages. In the mountains of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, resort areas received between w and 4 feet of new snowfall. Preliminary damage estimates from this storm range between $8-10 million with agricultural interests in Ventura county accounting for most of the monetary damage.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.8000, -120.0000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5437245. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.