Santa Ana, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Santa Ana's normal year runs from 48°F December nights to 80°F August afternoons, with 11.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 18.3°C, December lows of 9°C, August highs of 27°C, 284 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanta Ana John Wayne Airport
- Station IDUSW00093184
- Location33.68°N 117.87°W
- Elevation54 ft (17 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population316,184
On October 14, the normal high in Santa Ana is 77°F and the normal low 60°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Ana.
- Jan 67° 49°
- Feb 67° 50°
- Mar 68° 52°
- Apr 70° 55°
- May 71° 59°
- Jun 74° 63°
- Jul 79° 66°
- Aug 80° 67°
- Sep 80° 65°
- Oct 77° 59°
- Nov 72° 53°
- Dec 67° 48°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Santa Ana each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 48°F. The most precipitation falls in February (2.64 in), the least in June (0.01 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 49°F | 57.8°F | 2.59 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 67°F | 50°F | 58.4°F | 2.64 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| March | 68°F | 52°F | 60.0°F | 1.62 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 70°F | 55°F | 62.6°F | 0.52 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 71°F | 59°F | 65.3°F | 0.27 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 74°F | 63°F | 68.3°F | 0.01 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 79°F | 66°F | 72.5°F | 0.04 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 80°F | 67°F | 73.8°F | 0.01 | <1 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 80°F | 65°F | 72.5°F | 0.10 | 1 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 77°F | 59°F | 67.8°F | 0.54 | 3 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 72°F | 53°F | 62.6°F | 0.80 | 5 | 1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 67°F | 48°F | 57.4°F | 2.04 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 73°F | 57°F | 64.9°F | 11.18 | 41 | 13 | <1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 9°C | 14.3°C | 66 mm |
| February | 19°C | 10°C | 14.7°C | 67 mm |
| March | 20°C | 11°C | 15.6°C | 41 mm |
| April | 21°C | 13°C | 17.0°C | 13 mm |
| May | 22°C | 15°C | 18.5°C | 7 mm |
| June | 23°C | 17°C | 20.2°C | 0 mm |
| July | 26°C | 19°C | 22.5°C | 1 mm |
| August | 27°C | 19°C | 23.2°C | 0 mm |
| September | 27°C | 18°C | 22.5°C | 3 mm |
| October | 25°C | 15°C | 19.9°C | 14 mm |
| November | 22°C | 12°C | 17.0°C | 20 mm |
| December | 19°C | 9°C | 14.1°C | 52 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093184; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Santa Ana?
Every month's normal high in Santa Ana falls between 65°F and 85°F.
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093184.
What hardiness zone is each Santa Ana ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Santa Ana's 6 ZIP code areas are all in zone 10b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Santa Ana?
In a normal year in Santa Ana, 13 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), nights almost never fall to freezing and 41 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 13a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 41a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 110°F, on September 27, 2010; the lowest is 33°F, on January 14, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2010, with 24.60 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093184; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093184. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Santa Ana?
Over a year 87% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Santa Ana, 5.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (92%) and February the cloudiest (83%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 58th (with 22 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.3 |
| February | 83% | 4.1 |
| March | 85% | 5.4 |
| April | 86% | 6.5 |
| May | 83% | 6.9 |
| June | 85% | 7.3 |
| July | 89% | 7.4 |
| August | 92% | 7.0 |
| September | 91% | 6.0 |
| October | 88% | 4.6 |
| November | 87% | 3.6 |
| December | 83% | 2.9 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Santa Ana need?
A normal year in Santa Ana brings 1,092 heating degree days, 80% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,075 cooling degree days, 18% more than the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,463 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 230 | 7 |
| February | 192 | 7 |
| March | 165 | 10 |
| April | 99 | 25 |
| May | 38 | 47 |
| June | 4 | 105 |
| July | 0 | 234 |
| August | 0 | 271 |
| September | 1 | 224 |
| October | 22 | 111 |
| November | 104 | 32 |
| December | 238 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 1,092 | 1,075 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093184. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has Santa Ana been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 64.8°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 64.9°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66.0°F | +1.1°F | 8.87 |
| 2022 | 67.5°F | +2.6°F | 6.08 |
| 2023 | 64.8°F | −0.1°F | 17.81 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093184. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Santa Ana's climate compare?
Santa Ana is warmer than 176 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 49. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 64.9°F is warmer than 88%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Santa Ana is BSh: hot semi-arid steppe. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Santa Ana share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Huntington Beach, CAalso near: Santa Ana Fire Station (9 mi, 66.1°F a year); Newport Beach (10 mi, 62.8°F a year)193,151 people · 8 mi W
- Costa Mesa, CAalso near: Newport Beach (5 mi, 62.8°F a year); Santa Ana Fire Station (6 mi, 66.1°F a year)109,131 people · 3 mi W
- Fountain Valley, CAalso near: Santa Ana Fire Station (5 mi, 66.1°F a year); Newport Beach (8 mi, 62.8°F a year)56,036 people · 5 mi NW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Santa Ana's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Santa Ana. This page uses Santa Ana John Wayne Airport; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ana Fire Station USC00047888 | 1 mi NE | 135 ft | 66.1°F | 49°F | 83°F | 12.5 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Santa Ana's climate
What is the coldest month in Santa Ana?
December, with a normal high of 67°F and a normal low of 48°F. The warmest is August (80°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Santa Ana?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Santa Ana's NOAA station; Santa Ana's own co-op station Santa Ana Fire Station records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Santa Ana?
February, with 2.64 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Santa Ana in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Santa Ana in zone 10b across its 6 ZIP code areas (10b in 92704, the largest). By the same method at Santa Ana's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 38°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 10b.
Nearby and next
- Santa Ana in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Santa Ana Fire Station, CA4 miles from this station, 66.1°F a year
- Newport Beach, CA6 miles from this station, 62.8°F a year
- Tustin, CA7 miles from this station, 64.8°F a year
- Irvine, CA9 miles from this station, 66.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made