Climate averages 1991–2020
Santa Barbara weather
in May.
A warm, very dry month: the 6th warmest and the 5th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a warm month in Santa Barbara: daytime highs average 25.1°C and nights cool to about 14.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 10 mm of rain on roughly 2 days, which makes May a very dry month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 56 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Ventura (40 km away). In May its highs average 21.6°C, 3.5°C cooler than Santa Barbara, with 9.9 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Santa Barbara ranks joint 193rd of 498 for the warmest May highs and joint 51st of 498 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 498 cities is 23.8°C; Santa Barbara is 1.3°C warmer than that mean.
From May to June, average highs rise by 2.8°C to 27.9°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 10 mm to 2.0 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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
May in nearby cities
- Ventura in MayUnited States · 40 kmHigh 21.6°C · Low 12.8°C · 9.9 mm rain
- Oxnard in MayUnited States · 54 kmHigh 19.9°C · Low 13.0°C · 9.9 mm rain
- Thousand Oaks in MayUnited States · 84 kmHigh 22.9°C · Low 12.9°C · 12 mm rain
- Simi Valley in MayUnited States · 86 kmHigh 23.9°C · Low 12.7°C · 12 mm rain
- Santa Maria, United States in MayUnited States · 90 kmHigh 21.9°C · Low 11.7°C · 11 mm rain
- Valencia, United States in MayUnited States · 100 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 12.4°C · 10 mm rain
- Santa Clarita in MayUnited States · 106 kmHigh 25.2°C · Low 12.3°C · 10 mm rain
- Bakersfield in MayUnited States · 123 kmHigh 27.3°C · Low 14.4°C · 9.8 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.