Climate averages 1991–2020
Santa Barbara weather
by month.
See how the year changes. August has the highest average daily maximum; August has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneOctoberNovemberDecember
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Santa Barbara averages a daytime high of 24.4°C and a nighttime low of 14.0°C, with about 405 mm of rain on roughly 35 days. August is the warmest month (average high 30.7°C) and December the coolest (18.9°C). February is the wettest month with 94 mm; August is the driest with under 1 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): January, February, March, April, May, June, October, November and December. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Santa Barbara
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Santa Barbara climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19.1°C9.2°C | 9.2°C | 93 | 6.2 | 10.110 h |
| February | 19.0°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 94 | 6.7 | 10.911 h |
| March | 20.6°C10.3°C | 10.3°C | 70 | 5.8 | 11.912 h |
| April | 22.7°C11.8°C | 11.8°C | 24 | 3.0 | 13.013 h |
| May | 25.1°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 10 | 1.8 | 13.914 h |
| June | 27.9°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 2.0 | 0.5 | 14.414 h |
| July | 30.0°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 2.7 | 0.7 | 14.214 h |
| August | 30.7°C20.4°C | 20.4°C | 0.8 | 0.2 | 13.413 h |
| September | 29.6°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 2.3 | 0.5 | 12.412 h |
| October | 26.4°C15.5°C | 15.5°C | 18 | 1.9 | 11.311 h |
| November | 22.4°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 26 | 3.0 | 10.410 h |
| December | 18.9°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 61 | 5.1 | 9.910 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- VenturaUnited States · 40 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 12.4°C · 393 mm rain a year
- OxnardUnited States · 54 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 12.9°C · 393 mm rain a year
- Thousand OaksUnited States · 84 kmHigh 22.8°C · Low 12.2°C · 397 mm rain a year
- Simi ValleyUnited States · 86 kmHigh 23.5°C · Low 11.9°C · 397 mm rain a year
- Santa Maria, United StatesUnited States · 90 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 11.4°C · 425 mm rain a year
- Valencia, United StatesUnited States · 100 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 11.4°C · 334 mm rain a year
- Santa ClaritaUnited States · 106 kmHigh 24.1°C · Low 11.4°C · 334 mm rain a year
- BakersfieldUnited States · 123 kmHigh 24.6°C · Low 12.1°C · 268 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC-8, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at 34.50°, -119.70° (9 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 2.4°C for the difference between the city's elevation (16 m) and the cell's (391 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at 34.50°, -119.75°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.