Thunder at Dawn Signaled Strong Incoming Storm

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - It's not often you get a wake up call with the skies putting out the sound of booming thunder but it hit about 7 a.m. in Santa Barbara.

The forecast called for an aggressive storm arrival. Prior to the lightning and thunder, there was only a soft amount of rain, but it picked up very fast and came down hard for about an hour.

It continued to rain, but lighter as the morning went on. There was a break in the midday.

Mission Creek came alive at Rocky Nook Park and down through Oak Park. The flow came out to the east of Stearns Wharf at the beach along with water coming from another direction near Chase Palm Park.

The ocean was not an issue with this storm and there were no major swells or damaging conditions.

Conditions at Surfer's Point in Ventura were challenging enough for some to take on the current waves.

Several issues on Highway 101 were reported including flooding southbound at Patterson Avenue, a vehicle blocking lanes southbound at Refugio and significant slowing the northbound construction zone between Montecito and Santa Barbara.

There was also a two-vehicle collision on Gutierrez Street near Anacapa St. that brought out Santa Barbara fire, police and AMR.

The intense rain was handled well by the drains, and the sometimes problem areas in the Funk Zone did not lead to any long term closures.

Many shoppers and those walking to and from work at midday said the rain was not a problem for them, mainly because it was calming down and crossing the street on foot was not challenging.

The California Highway Patrol sent out an Instagram video during the hardest rainfall to show the conditions which were difficult to navigate as seen through their windshield.

Updates on the weather can be found at Your News Channel's First Alert Weather Center.