Flood events in Santa Barbara County, California The flood events on record, by date and by year
This page is a county record of past events and claims. It does not show the flood zone or the risk of an address. For the flood map of an address, use FEMA's address search (opens in a new tab).
NCEI has 86 flood events on record for Santa Barbara County, California, from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026.
The newest flood event on record is on 3 Jan 2026.
From 2016 through 2025, NCEI has 41 flood events on record for the county.
The NWS collects event reports from a variety of sources, which include (but are not limited to): county, state, and federal emergency management officials, local law enforcement officials, SKYWARN spotters, NWS damage surveys, newspaper clipping services, the insurance industry, and the general public, among others.
The National Weather Service reports property and crop damage estimates using available data at the time of event reporting. These values should therefore be considered broad estimates. Damage amounts are not adjusted for inflation.
Zone (NWS Forecast Zone): A zone is a geographic area defined by the NWS for issuing forecasts, watches, and warnings. While zones often align with counties, they can also represent smaller or subdivided areas within a county to account for differences in weather conditions, such as elevation or proximity to water. Larger-scale events—such as heat, cold, drought, and winter storms—are typically recorded by zone.
The words of the agency. Source: NOAA NCEI, Storm Events Database, page "Frequently Asked Questions", copied on .
Date of the data: NCEI storm events through . Event types on this page: Flood, Flash Flood, Coastal Flood, Lakeshore Flood.
Newest flood events on record
Flash Flood
1 mile E of LOS ALAMOS
Flash Flood
1 mile NNW of LA PATERA
Flash Flood
2 miles NE of GOLETA
Flash Flood
1 mile W of ORELLA
Flash Flood
1 mile WSW of ELLWOOD
Flash Flood
1 mile ENE of LENTO STATION
Flash Flood
7 miles WNW of NEW CUYAMA ARPT
Flash Flood
At MONTECITO
Flash Flood
1 mile ENE of MONTECITO
Flash Flood
At MONTECITO
Flash Flood
2 miles NNE of HONDA STATION
Flash Flood
1 mile WSW of ORELLA
Flash Flood
4 miles ENE of (VBG)VANDENBERG AFB
Flash Flood
1 mile WNW of (SBA)SANTA BARBARA A
Flash Flood
1 mile WNW of CARPINTERIA
Flash Flood
1 mile S of WHITE HILLS JCT
Flash Flood
1 mile E of SANTA BARBARA
Flash Flood
2 miles W of OAK KNOLLS
Flash Flood
11 miles SSE of BROMELA
Flash Flood
At LOS OLIVOS
Flash Flood
4 miles N of ORELLA
Flash Flood
1 mile SSE of LOS ALAMOS
Flash Flood
1 mile W of (SBA)SANTA BARBARA A
Flash Flood
1 mile N of SANTA BARBARA
Flash Flood
3 miles NNW of MONTECITO
A place is the text of the NCEI record: a distance and a direction from a reference place. The site does not show a place text that names a private property or reads as a person. NCEI gives no magnitude for this hazard.
Flood events by year
| Decade | Year that ends in 0 | Year that ends in 1 | Year that ends in 2 | Year that ends in 3 | Year that ends in 4 | Year that ends in 5 | Year that ends in 6 | Year that ends in 7 | Year that ends in 8 | Year that ends in 9 | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1990s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| 2010s | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 2020s | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 6 (part of the year) | 43 |
A darker cell has a larger count. The number is in each cell.
Flood and flash flood events are on record from 1996. The year 2026 has the events through 30 Jun 2026 only.
By month, all years
- Jan20 events
- Feb25 events
- Mar10 events
- Apr2 events
- May2 events
- Jun0 events
- Jul1 event
- Aug0 events
- Sep2 events
- Oct5 events
- Nov4 events
- Dec15 events
Beside the other counties
| Measure | Santa Barbara | All counties of California | All counties of the United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flood events, 1996 to 2026 | 86 | 6,810 | 177,902 |
| Events for each 100 square miles | 3.1 | 4.4 | 5.0 |
| Events for each 10,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.7 | 5.4 |
The columns for the state and the United States total the counties. They count the events of each county in the same way as the county column. A forecast zone with another name than a county counts for the state only.
More flood events on record
| Date | Event type | Magnitude | Damage estimate | Deaths | Injuries | On record for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | $10 thousand | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | $10 thousand | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 2 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | $2.0 million | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 2 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 1 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County | |
| Flash Flood | not recorded | none | 0 | 0 | County |
The table has all other events on record. A damage figure is an estimate in the NCEI record.
Official channels
- NCEI Storm Events Database (opens in a new tab)Search the full NCEI record by state, county and date.
- National Weather Service: Los Angeles, CA (opens in a new tab)The forecast office that issues the weather warnings for the county.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center: Search By Address (opens in a new tab)Search an address to see its flood map. This site has no flood-zone data.
These links open the pages of the agencies. The site checked the links on .
Cite this page
County Hazards. "Flood events on record for Santa Barbara County, California". https://countyhazards.com/county/ca/santa-barbara/flood/. Data: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database through 30 Jun 2026. Page made on .
Questions
- Which month has the most flood events on record for Santa Barbara County?
- February has 25 of the 86 flood events on record from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026.
- How many flood events are on record for California?
- NCEI has 7,136 flood events on record for California from 1996 through 30 Jun 2026. That count has every forecast zone of the state.
- How does Santa Barbara County compare with the other counties of California?
- The counties of California have 4.4 flood events for each 100 square miles. Santa Barbara County has 3.1.