With a major winter storm set to arrive during peak holiday travel, forecasters are warning that Santa Barbara County faces heightened flood risk.
After a significant storm soaked the region last month, creeks still contain the storm’s remnants, and soils are saturated. These conditions increase the likelihood of flooding as well as infrastructure and vegetation movement as another powerful system moves in.
“We’re starting tomorrow evening with heavier rain impacting the area,” said Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Los Angeles, on Monday. “The main story is that it’s going to be pretty dangerous conditions. It’s going to be a lot of rain — very heavy rainfall — especially if any convection forms, which could include thunderstorms.”…