Gaviota Coast Wind Safety Project

Project Description and Goals

Summary: Current weather station reporting locations for the Gaviota Coast is limited to the weather stations at Santa Barbara County Fire Department Fire Station No. 18, which is located in Gaviota. The fire station has an anemometer that provides wind speed and direction. This unit requires a firefighter to physically look at the data and call the local NOAA Regional Office, which is located in Oxnard, California. No reporting can occur when personnel and apparatus are out of the station. One of the basic intents of this project is to automate this information as well as locate weather stations at locations that will provide an accurate accounting for the micro-climate found in the Gaviota area.

There are currently no linked weather stations between Vandenberg Air Force Base and Santa Barbara . Major wind events for Southern California start at Point Conception and travel through Jalama, Cojo Bixby Ranch, Hollister Ranch, Gaviota Pass, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria and south. The addition of weather stations will help facilitate (NOAA Oxnard / Los Angeles), more accurate predictions, weather monitoring and informational data sharing with several agencies.

This would not only include fire weather prediction and forecasting but wind events for the Gaviota area that have historically proven to be significant with not just high profile vehicles but passenger vehicles and motorcycles as well as Union Pacific Railroad.. The addition of hazard warning freeway displays will significantly reduce the potential for wind related vehicle accidents as well as warning motorists of road hazards associated with wind, wildfire or traffic accidents that cause delays. Additionally, AMBER Alerts could be displayed using the same overhead freeway signs that are used in the Los Angeles area through the TMC (Traffic Metro Center).

Weather Station / Overhead Freeway Programmable Informational Sign Location Goals:

Weather Stations:

  1. Weather station locations to be determined by NOAA Los Angeles / Oxnard Office staff and coordinated through the Meteorologist in Charge,
  2. Provide additional weather stations at as many locations as possible throughout the Gaviota Coast. (Note: More weather stations equal more accurate reporting and prediction capability.)
  3. Key weather station locations would be at the Gaviota Rest Stop area and coastal canyon locations along the Gaviota Coast from Point Conception to Santa Barbara.
  4. Specific weather station locations will be determined by the Los Angeles / Oxnard Weather offices in regard to coastal canyon locations with an emphasis on locating stations on state property at El Capitan and Refugio State Beaches.
  5. Grant language will also include both maintenance and repair costs for each weather station.
  6. An effort needs to be made to bring several agencies together in an effort to bring more weather stations on line, communicating with NOAA. An example of this would be Santa Barbara County Flood Control that has several weather stations that collect weather data for hydrological projects such as cloud seeding for enhanced rainfall in the backcountry of Santa Barbara County. Another example would be the oil and gas facilities which are located along the Gaviota Coast.

Overhead Freeway Programmable Information Signs:

  1. Locations to be determined by both the California Highway Patrol and CalTrans.
  2. Through possible grant funding, install (2) overhead programmable information freeway display signs on both Hwy 154 and Hwy 101 intersections (Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez Valley) to warn motorists of High Wind Hazards, Road Closures, Amber Alerts or other identified emergency information.

Reference Sources:

The American Meteorological Society: The Sundowner Winds of Santa Barbara, California, Warren Blier

TrainOrders.Com: Western Railroad Discussion > Coil covers that blew off at Gaviota

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Website Updated August 3, 2006