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Pools of water line the side of Mountain Dr. after yesterday's storm. Photo by Victor Maccharoli.

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Storm soaks county

No major issues reported

By COLBY FRAZIER — Dec. 8, 2009

After dropping a steady, but manageable amount of rain across the Central Coast, gray storm clouds broke yesterday afternoon and made way for frigid winds that left much of Santa Barbara County under a high wind warning.

While the storm dropped about one-quarter-inch of rain per hour in some areas, it didn’t appear to cause any major flooding or landslide.

Overall, officials said it was a healthy dose of moisture that was more than welcome.

“It was a good rain,” said Tom Fayram, deputy director of the county of Santa Barbara’s water resources division. “We need more rain like this.”

Boulders the size of basketballs fell onto the road along portions of West Mountain Drive in Montecito, which was hit hard in 2008 by the Tea fire. Some creeks saw a low, but steady flow.

Generally, Fayram said mudslides and flooding become an issue when rain falls steady at one-half-inch, to one-inch per hour, though it depends on how much moisture is in the ground.

The storm dropped 1.43 inches in downtown Santa Barbara and 2.65 inches on San Marcos Pass, according to measurements on the county’s Web site.

Along with the high wind advisory, a frost advisory and freeze watch were also in effect throughout the county.

Five-day weather forecasts showed a chance of rain on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

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