Santa Barbara, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Santa Barbara's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 75°F August afternoons, with 17.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 15.2°C, December lows of 5°C, August highs of 24°C, 438 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanta Barbara Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00023190
- Location34.43°N 119.84°W
- Elevation9 ft (3 m)
- From the center8 miles
- Population87,291
On October 23, the normal high in Santa Barbara is 73°F and the normal low 50°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 8%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Barbara.
- Jan 64° 41°
- Feb 64° 44°
- Mar 66° 46°
- Apr 68° 48°
- May 69° 51°
- Jun 70° 55°
- Jul 73° 58°
- Aug 75° 58°
- Sep 74° 56°
- Oct 73° 51°
- Nov 69° 44°
- Dec 64° 40°
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 Barbara each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in February (3.86 in), the least in August (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 | 64°F | 41°F | 52.8°F | 3.84 | 6 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 64°F | 44°F | 53.7°F | 3.86 | 7 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 46°F | 56.1°F | 3.10 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 48°F | 58.0°F | 0.91 | 3 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 51°F | 60.3°F | 0.42 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 70°F | 55°F | 62.4°F | 0.11 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 73°F | 58°F | 65.7°F | 0.02 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 75°F | 58°F | 66.2°F | 0.01 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 74°F | 56°F | 65.0°F | 0.07 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 73°F | 51°F | 62.1°F | 0.73 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 69°F | 44°F | 56.7°F | 1.27 | 3 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 64°F | 40°F | 52.3°F | 2.91 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 69°F | 49°F | 59.3°F | 17.25 | 39 | 3 | 6 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 5°C | 11.6°C | 98 mm |
| February | 18°C | 6°C | 12.1°C | 98 mm |
| March | 19°C | 8°C | 13.4°C | 79 mm |
| April | 20°C | 9°C | 14.4°C | 23 mm |
| May | 21°C | 11°C | 15.7°C | 11 mm |
| June | 21°C | 13°C | 16.9°C | 3 mm |
| July | 23°C | 15°C | 18.7°C | 1 mm |
| August | 24°C | 14°C | 19.0°C | 0 mm |
| September | 24°C | 13°C | 18.3°C | 2 mm |
| October | 23°C | 11°C | 16.7°C | 19 mm |
| November | 21°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 32 mm |
| December | 18°C | 5°C | 11.3°C | 74 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023190; 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 Barbara?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (0).
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 USW00023190.
When is the last frost in Santa Barbara?
In Santa Barbara, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after January 11 in half of years and after February 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 16 in half of years and before December 1 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 81% of years here (NOAA).
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- January 111 year in 10 after February 13; 9 in 10 after December 14
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 161 year in 10 before December 1; 9 in 10 before January 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 342 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after December 30 in half of springs and before December 26 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Santa Barbara in zone 10b across its 3 ZIP code areas (10b in 93103, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Santa Barbara's NOAA station is in zone 10a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (25 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023190; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Santa Barbara ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Santa Barbara's 3 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 Barbara?
In a normal year in Santa Barbara, 3 days a year reach 90°F, 6 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 39 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 6a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 39a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1941) is 109°F, on June 27, 1990; the lowest is 20°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 40.74 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023190; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00023190. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Santa Barbara, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 58°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 59°F; the driest air comes in December (41°F). April is the windiest month (6.5 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (75%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 70% | 52% | 4.6 mph | 68% | 16% |
| February | 45°F | 70% | 54% | 5.5 mph | 60% | 21% |
| March | 47°F | 70% | 56% | 6.1 mph | 66% | 16% |
| April | 50°F | 70% | 55% | 6.5 mph | 69% | 16% |
| May | 53°F | 76% | 63% | 6.3 mph | 59% | 22% |
| June | 57°F | 79% | 64% | 5.8 mph | 68% | 17% |
| July | 59°F | 80% | 63% | 5.7 mph | 75% | 11% |
| August | 59°F | 78% | 61% | 5.1 mph | 75% | 15% |
| September | 55°F | 73% | 54% | 4.7 mph | 71% | 17% |
| October | 49°F | 68% | 48% | 4.2 mph | 73% | 13% |
| November | 42°F | 66% | 49% | 4.1 mph | 72% | 11% |
| December | 41°F | 69% | 50% | 4.1 mph | 65% | 17% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023190. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Santa Barbara?
Over a year 88% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Santa Barbara, 5.5 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (93%) and February the cloudiest (81%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 52nd (with 5 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82% | 3.1 |
| February | 81% | 4.0 |
| March | 83% | 5.2 |
| April | 87% | 6.6 |
| May | 88% | 7.5 |
| June | 89% | 7.9 |
| July | 91% | 7.7 |
| August | 93% | 7.2 |
| September | 92% | 6.1 |
| October | 89% | 4.6 |
| November | 87% | 3.5 |
| December | 82% | 2.8 |
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 Barbara need?
A normal year in Santa Barbara brings 2,292 heating degree days, 57% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 214 cooling degree days, 76% fewer than the median (908). Three months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,460 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 380 | 0 |
| February | 317 | 0 |
| March | 280 | 2 |
| April | 217 | 6 |
| May | 157 | 10 |
| June | 91 | 13 |
| July | 29 | 51 |
| August | 23 | 62 |
| September | 44 | 44 |
| October | 112 | 24 |
| November | 251 | 3 |
| December | 392 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,292 | 214 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023190. 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 Barbara been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 59.8°F, 0.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 59.3°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59.1°F | −0.1°F | 14.19 |
| 2022 | 60.2°F | +0.9°F | 8.83 |
| 2023 | 60.4°F | +1.1°F | 27.24 |
| 2024 | 59.7°F | +0.4°F | 20.49 |
| 2025 | 59.8°F | +0.5°F | 23.44 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023190. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Santa Barbara's climate compare?
Santa Barbara is warmer than 79 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 119. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 59.3°F is warmer than 73%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Santa Barbara is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Barbara share this climate record?
4 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.
- Goleta, CA32,611 people · 1 mi NW
- Eastern Goleta Valley, CA29,411 people · 3 mi E
- Isla Vista, CA13,717 people · 1 mi SW
- University of California-Santa Barbara, CA11,634 people · 1 mi SW
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 Barbara's other NOAA stations record?
2 more NOAA stations keep 1991-2020 normals in or near Santa Barbara. This page uses Santa Barbara Municipal Airport; the others differ by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara (11 mi W) USW00053152 | 9 mi W | 18 ft | 58.4°F | 43°F | 71°F | 19.0 | – | December 31 |
| Santa Barbara station USC00047902 | 2 mi NE | 16 ft | 62.5°F | 47°F | 76°F | 19.0 | 0 | January 13 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Santa Barbara's climate
What is the coldest month in Santa Barbara?
December, with a normal high of 64°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is August (75°F by day, 58°F at night).
Does it snow in Santa Barbara?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Santa Barbara's NOAA station; Santa Barbara's own co-op station Santa Barbara station records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Santa Barbara?
February, with 3.86 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Santa Barbara in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Santa Barbara in zone 10b across its 3 ZIP code areas (10b in 93103, the largest). By the same method at Santa Barbara's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 30°F (25 years, 1991-2020): zone 10a.
How late can frost come in Santa Barbara?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after January 11; in one year in ten it comes after February 13. Waiting until February 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Santa Barbara in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gibraltar Dam #2, CA11 miles from this station, 61.4°F a year
- Cachuma Lake, CA14 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- Ojai, CA35 miles from this station, 60.1°F a year
- New Cuyama, CA37 miles from this station, 59.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made