Get, ready for some crazy weather this weekend! The Tri-Counties could get the most snow that it’s had in three decades.
"It's going to be a pretty significant snow event," said Kristen Stewart, who's a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The storm headed our way could bring significant rain. But, the big news is that there is a blizzard warning for mountain areas in some Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Los Angeles County mountain areas.
"We even looked into our past records to see if we had issued blizzard warnings, and we had not," said Stewart.
We could see snow down to 1500 feet. The mountains above 4000 feet could get 3-5 feet of snow, with higher elevations getting up to seven feet. If it happens, it would rival the last big winter storm of this type in 1989.
Aside from the snow, we could see significant rainfall, with 2-4" in coastal areas and inland, and up to 6" in some mountain areas. The heaviest rainfall is expected Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning.
The good news is that during the six weeks since the destructive January 9 storm, public works crews in the region have made significant progress clearing waterways and debris basins.
Walter Rubalcava is the head of Santa Barbara County’s Flood Control District.
"We (the flood control district) are about 75% complete with all of our work," said Rubalcava.
While this storm will be big, meteorologists say they don’t expect the rainfall totals to be as high as they were in the January storm. That’s because they think it will move through the region quickly.
Things should dry out Sunday. But, keep the umbrella handy. Another storm is in the forecast for Monday.
