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Santa Barbara, California climate

Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean

Santa Barbara has a mildly seasonal mild-temperate climate (Warm-summer Mediterranean, Köppen Csb). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 78°F, while the coldest is December averaging around 46°F at night. Precipitation totals about 19 inches a year and is strongly seasonal — January alone averages 4.4 inches while July barely receives 0.01 inches.

☀️ Summers

Mild

Highs near 78°F in August.

About 5 days a year above 90 °F

❄️ Winters

Cool

Lows near 46°F in December.

🌧️ Rain

Fairly dry

About 19 in of rain a year.

Wettest in January

⛅ Sky & trend

Fairly sunny

More sun than cloud through the year.

+1.4 °F vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Clear vs cloudy days

Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day counts

Santa Barbara climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	67	67	68	71	72	73	76	78	78	76	71	66
Avg temp (°F)	57	57	59	61	63	65	68	69	69	66	61	56
Avg low (°F)	47	47	49	51	54	57	60	60	60	56	50	46
Precipitation (in)	4.4	4.4	3.2	1.0	0.4	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.8	1.4	3.1

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°F)	67	67	68	71	72	73
Avg temp (°F)	57	57	59	61	63	65
Avg low (°F)	47	47	49	51	54	57
Precipitation (in)	4.4	4.4	3.2	1.0	0.4	0.1

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°F)	76	78	78	76	71	66
Avg temp (°F)	68	69	69	66	61	56
Avg low (°F)	60	60	60	56	50	46
Precipitation (in)	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.8	1.4	3.1

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	7	7	6	3	2	2	0.3	0.4	0.9	2	3	5
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	—	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.2	0.3	0.4	1	2	0.3	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	0.1	0.2	0.0	—	0.0	—	0.0	—	—	0.2	0.0	0.0

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	7	7	6	3	2	2
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	—	—	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.2
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	0.1	0.2	0.0	—	0.0	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	0.3	0.4	0.9	2	3	5
Days with high ≥ 90°F (days)	0.3	0.4	1	2	0.3	—
Days with low ≤ 32°F (days)	0.0	—	—	0.2	0.0	0.0

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	47	47	45	37	34	29	25	21	24	28	36	44
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	12	10	11	14	16	17	21	24	20	19	15	13
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	10	9	12	11	12	11	9	6	8	8	10	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	9	9	8	5	3	2	1	0.7	2	4	5	8
Relative humidity (%)	66	69	69	62	54	43	38	36	41	47	55	63
Wind speed (mph)	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.2	1.9	1.7	1.5	1.6	1.8	2.1	2.3	2.5

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	47	47	45	37	34	29
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	12	10	11	14	16	17
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	10	9	12	11	12	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	9	9	8	5	3	2
Relative humidity (%)	66	69	69	62	54	43
Wind speed (mph)	2.4	2.3	2.2	2.2	1.9	1.7

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	25	21	24	28	36	44
Clear days (≤ 30% cloud)	21	24	20	19	15	13
Partly cloudy days (30–70%)	9	6	8	8	10	11
Cloudy days (≥ 70%)	1	0.7	2	4	5	8
Relative humidity (%)	38	36	41	47	55	63
Wind speed (mph)	1.5	1.6	1.8	2.1	2.3	2.5

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Santa Barbara (NOAA GHCN station USC00047902), about 1 km from the city centre.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →