Last rain of the year in Santa Barbara is a gentle soaker without major problems

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The latest weather system in Santa Barbara County wasn't the roughest storm of the season, but it came through at a time when so many people are on vacation. 

"We are going to Monterey and then spend New Year's eve at San Francisco," said a bundled up Noelle Aragon from Costa Rica.

With Christian Gomez she was strolling the Santa Barbara waterfront and said they were still enjoying their time in the rain, but looked forward to the sunny days later on this week.

This weather however was not something they had planned for.

"Not at all. We didn't expect, like, this kind of rain. Because in Costa Rica, we just ended our rainy season. We were hoping to get some sun," said Gomez.

With some steady rain events already in December, businesses have built up their sand bag protections already. Some were stacked up next to the Shoreline Cafe at Leadbetter Beach.

But there were no major issues from either the rain or the stormy seas at the waterfront.

Some of the normally overloaded intersections in the rain drained well and drivers also appeared to take it in stride, with more patience than we have seen in recent storms.

Ashley Thomas is visiting from Seattle. She had some advice when she compared our rain to what they had at her home.

"I like the rain. It's fun to be out here. It's better than at home we have four inches of snow. This is every day at home so, it is not bad at all," said Ashley Thomas.

Even with the challenging weather, finding some alternative activities (mainly inside) turned out to be a good solution.

"Go indoors," said Sam Whipple. "We just did the wine tasting and then after this we are going to drive up to Solvang."

More wine tasting was planned there as well, as visitors look to ride out the storm.