Climate averages 1991–2020
Santa Barbara weather
in January.
A mild, wet month: the 10th warmest and the 11th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a mild month in Santa Barbara: daytime highs average 19.1°C and nights cool to about 9.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 93 mm of rain on roughly 6 days, which makes January a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 08 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Ventura (40 km away). In January its highs average 17.1°C, 2.0°C cooler than Santa Barbara, with 93 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Santa Barbara ranks 38th of 498 for the warmest January highs and joint 380th of 498 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 498 cities is 9.5°C; Santa Barbara is 9.6°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs fall by 0.1°C to 19.0°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 93 mm to 94 mm.
The annual picture
January 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, selected | 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
January in nearby cities
- Ventura in JanuaryUnited States · 40 kmHigh 17.1°C · Low 7.4°C · 93 mm rain
- Oxnard in JanuaryUnited States · 54 kmHigh 16.6°C · Low 8.9°C · 93 mm rain
- Thousand Oaks in JanuaryUnited States · 84 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 6.6°C · 91 mm rain
- Simi Valley in JanuaryUnited States · 86 kmHigh 17.7°C · Low 6.0°C · 91 mm rain
- Santa Maria, United States in JanuaryUnited States · 90 kmHigh 17.1°C · Low 7.2°C · 96 mm rain
- Valencia, United States in JanuaryUnited States · 100 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 5.1°C · 70 mm rain
- Santa Clarita in JanuaryUnited States · 106 kmHigh 16.9°C · Low 5.0°C · 70 mm rain
- Bakersfield in JanuaryUnited States · 123 kmHigh 15.3°C · Low 4.1°C · 47 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.