How extreme does Santa Ana's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Santa Ana has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Santa Ana Fire Stn station. Updated through March 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Santa Ana has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

114°F Jul 6, 2018

That is about 32°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Santa Ana (typical high near 83°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 114°F Jul 6, 2018

2 113°F Sep 6, 2024

3 111°F Sep 27, 2010

❄️ Coldest night

-2°F Feb 7, 1989

About 52°F colder than a normal February night in Santa Ana (typical low near 50°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -2°F Feb 7, 1989

2 0°F Dec 9, 1998

3 16°F Jan 12, 1989

🌧️ Most rain in one day

3.47 in Dec 6, 1997

More rain in a single day than Santa Ana usually gets in the whole month of December (typical December total about 2.2 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 3.47 in Dec 6, 1997

2 3.15 in Oct 20, 2004

3 2.75 in Dec 4, 1974

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Santa Ana's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 114°F is about 32°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Santa Ana's warmest days reach the mid-80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the high 40s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 114°F and as low as −2°F. A single day has delivered over 3 inches of rain. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Santa Ana Fire Stn (NOAA GHCN station USC00047888), inside the city.

How we build these numbers →

← Santa Ana city detail