Climate averages 1991–2020
Santa Barbara weather
in December.
A mild, moderately wet month: the coolest and the 9th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Santa Barbara: daytime highs average 18.9°C and nights cool to about 9.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 61 mm of rain on roughly 5 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 54 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Ventura (40 km away). In December its highs average 17.1°C, 1.8°C cooler than Santa Barbara, with 58 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Santa Barbara ranks joint 42nd of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 219th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Santa Barbara is 8.3°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.2°C to 19.1°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 61 mm to 93 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
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, selected | 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
December in nearby cities
- Ventura in DecemberUnited States · 40 kmHigh 17.1°C · Low 7.5°C · 58 mm rain
- Oxnard in DecemberUnited States · 54 kmHigh 16.6°C · Low 9.1°C · 58 mm rain
- Thousand Oaks in DecemberUnited States · 84 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 6.5°C · 58 mm rain
- Simi Valley in DecemberUnited States · 86 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 5.9°C · 58 mm rain
- Santa Maria, United States in DecemberUnited States · 90 kmHigh 16.8°C · Low 7.1°C · 71 mm rain
- Valencia, United States in DecemberUnited States · 100 kmHigh 17.0°C · Low 4.8°C · 50 mm rain
- Santa Clarita in DecemberUnited States · 106 kmHigh 16.5°C · Low 4.7°C · 50 mm rain
- Bakersfield in DecemberUnited States · 123 kmHigh 14.8°C · Low 3.8°C · 48 mm rain
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 limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Santa Barbara) is explained once on the Santa Barbara year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.