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San Luis Obispo, California climate
Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean
San Luis Obispo has a mildly seasonal mild-temperate climate (Warm-summer Mediterranean, Köppen Csb). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 23°C, while the coldest is December averaging around 5°C at night. Precipitation totals about 338 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — February alone averages 72 mm while August barely receives 0 mm.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsSan Luis Obispo climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 18 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Avg low (°C) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 70 | 72 | 65 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 28 | 52 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Avg low (°C) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 70 | 72 | 65 | 24 | 9 | 2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 18 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 11 |
| Avg low (°C) | 13 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 28 | 52 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1 | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 3 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.8 | 4 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 3 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1 | 2 | 0.3 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | — | 0.8 | 4 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 52 | 54 | 52 | 46 | 50 | 53 | 61 | 59 | 54 | 46 | 44 | 50 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 75 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 67 | 65 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 72 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.0 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 52 | 54 | 52 | 46 | 50 | 53 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 75 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 72 | 67 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 61 | 59 | 54 | 46 | 44 | 50 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 16 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 10 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 65 | 64 | 65 | 65 | 69 | 72 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.0 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Santa Maria Public AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00023273), about 47 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.