A powerful winter storm sweeping across the Central Coast this week brought heavy rain, localized flooding and travel disruptions, including a temporary shutdown at Santa Barbara Airport.
Persistent rainfall caused significant flooding on the airport’s airfield, forcing officials to temporarily halt all flight operations. Airport crews worked overnight to clear standing water from the runways as the storm continued to move through the region.
Flights resumed Friday morning.
“We are back up and running,” said Lauren Gonzalez, Santa Barbara Airport’s marketing supervisor. “Our staff were working around the clock overnight to clean up all the water and get it reopened, so flights should be resuming normal operations today.”
Gonzalez said travelers whose flights were canceled or delayed should continue checking directly with their airline, noting that each carrier is handling rebooking and schedules differently depending on destinations and operations.
“Each airline is going to handle their flights differently,” Gonzalez said. “So a passenger should keep continuing to check with their airline directly on their flight status.”
While recent flood watches and warnings were issued for parts of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, emergency officials reported no major storm-related damage as of Friday.
Santa Barbara Fire Captain Scott Safechuck advised people to stay alert through the holiday weekend.
“People should just remain vigilant, watch their storm conditions, pay attention to a reliable news source and the National Weather Service warnings, and be careful being out on the roads,” Safechuck said.
The National Weather Service says conditions are expected to improve heading into the weekend. Meteorologist Mike Wofford said showers should taper off by Friday afternoon, with drier weather expected through most of next week. Another chance of rain could arrive around New Year’s Day.
Elsewhere across the Central Coast, officials urged residents to remain cautious as wet conditions linger, particularly near flooded roadways, creeks and low-lying areas. Monterey County remains under a flood watch through 10 p.m. Friday.
