Santa Maria, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Santa Maria's normal year runs from 40°F December nights to 74°F August afternoons, with 13.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 14.8°C, December lows of 5°C, August highs of 23°C, 338 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanta Maria Public Airport
- Station IDUSW00023273
- Location34.90°N 120.45°W
- Elevation242 ft (74 m)
- Population111,346
On October 14, the normal high in Santa Maria is 75°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 Maria.
- Jan 65° 41°
- Feb 65° 43°
- Mar 66° 44°
- Apr 68° 45°
- May 69° 49°
- Jun 71° 52°
- Jul 73° 55°
- Aug 74° 55°
- Sep 75° 54°
- Oct 75° 50°
- Nov 70° 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 Maria each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 40°F. The most precipitation falls in February (2.85 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 | 65°F | 41°F | 52.8°F | 2.74 | 8 | <1 | 3 | 10 h |
| February | 65°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 2.85 | 8 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 66°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 2.56 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 45°F | 56.7°F | 0.93 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 49°F | 59.0°F | 0.36 | 2 | 1 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 71°F | 52°F | 61.5°F | 0.06 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 73°F | 55°F | 64.1°F | 0.03 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 74°F | 55°F | 64.5°F | 0.01 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 75°F | 54°F | 64.3°F | 0.07 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 75°F | 50°F | 62.2°F | 0.54 | 3 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 70°F | 44°F | 57.1°F | 1.12 | 5 | <1 | 1 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 64°F | 40°F | 52.2°F | 2.05 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 48°F | 58.6°F | 13.32 | 47 | 6 | 9 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18°C | 5°C | 11.6°C | 70 mm |
| February | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 72 mm |
| March | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 65 mm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.7°C | 24 mm |
| May | 21°C | 9°C | 15.0°C | 9 mm |
| June | 22°C | 11°C | 16.4°C | 2 mm |
| July | 23°C | 13°C | 17.8°C | 1 mm |
| August | 23°C | 13°C | 18.1°C | 0 mm |
| September | 24°C | 12°C | 17.9°C | 2 mm |
| October | 24°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 14 mm |
| November | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 28 mm |
| December | 18°C | 5°C | 11.2°C | 52 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023273; 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 Maria?
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 USW00023273.
When is the last frost in Santa Maria?
In Santa Maria, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 4 in half of years and after March 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 13 in half of years and before November 21 in one year in ten. A night at 32°F or colder comes at all in 94% 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
- February 41 year in 10 after March 16; 9 in 10 after December 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 131 year in 10 before November 21; 9 in 10 before January 10
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 315 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 365 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 5 in half of springs and before December 27 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Santa Maria in zone 9b in ZIP code 93458. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Santa Maria's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in California · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023273; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Santa Maria?
In a normal year in Santa Maria, 6 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 9 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 47 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 9a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 47a normal year
The highest temperature in Santa Maria's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1906) is 110°F, on June 20, 2008; the lowest is 20°F, on January 2, 1976.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1941, with 33.51 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023273; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record SMXthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Santa Maria, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 54°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 55°F; the driest air comes in December (40°F). April is the windiest month (9.2 mph on average), and August has the most clear or nearly clear hours (73%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 71% | 53% | 6.5 mph | 54% | 19% |
| February | 44°F | 73% | 57% | 7.3 mph | 49% | 23% |
| March | 46°F | 74% | 58% | 7.9 mph | 55% | 20% |
| April | 48°F | 69% | 54% | 9.2 mph | 60% | 17% |
| May | 51°F | 72% | 58% | 8.5 mph | 59% | 21% |
| June | 53°F | 74% | 58% | 7.7 mph | 68% | 16% |
| July | 55°F | 80% | 61% | 6.3 mph | 68% | 13% |
| August | 55°F | 78% | 58% | 5.7 mph | 73% | 12% |
| September | 51°F | 70% | 53% | 5.9 mph | 68% | 17% |
| October | 47°F | 67% | 51% | 5.6 mph | 65% | 15% |
| November | 41°F | 67% | 48% | 5.9 mph | 65% | 14% |
| December | 40°F | 68% | 50% | 5.8 mph | 56% | 18% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023273. 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 Maria?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Santa Maria, 5.1 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (86%) and July the cloudiest (79%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 99th (with 11 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.1 |
| February | 82% | 3.9 |
| March | 83% | 5.2 |
| April | 86% | 6.4 |
| May | 84% | 7.0 |
| June | 81% | 7.0 |
| July | 79% | 6.6 |
| August | 80% | 6.1 |
| September | 83% | 5.4 |
| October | 84% | 4.3 |
| November | 86% | 3.4 |
| December | 82% | 2.7 |
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 Maria need?
A normal year in Santa Maria brings 2,484 heating degree days, 54% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 165 cooling degree days, 82% fewer than the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,257 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 377 | 0 |
| February | 319 | 1 |
| March | 303 | 2 |
| April | 252 | 5 |
| May | 194 | 8 |
| June | 117 | 11 |
| July | 55 | 27 |
| August | 48 | 31 |
| September | 59 | 40 |
| October | 121 | 34 |
| November | 243 | 8 |
| December | 397 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,484 | 165 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023273. 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 Maria been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 58.7°F, 0.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 58.6°F. 1 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.9°F | −0.7°F | 11.20 |
| 2022 | 58.2°F | −0.4°F | 9.49 |
| 2023 | 57.4°F | −1.2°F | 21.52 |
| 2024 | 58.0°F | −0.6°F | 15.46 |
| 2025 | 58.7°F | +0.1°F | 14.44 |
Over 66 complete years from 1948 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.2°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023273; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Santa Maria's climate compare?
Santa Maria is warmer than 70 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 82. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 58.6°F is warmer than 71%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Santa Maria 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 Maria share this climate record?
5 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.
- Orcutt, CA31,284 people · 3 mi SE
- Nipomo, CA17,266 people · 10 mi N
- Guadalupe, CA8,735 people · 8 mi NW
- Woodlands, CA2,005 people · 11 mi NW
- Casmalia, CA89 people · 6 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.
Questions about Santa Maria's climate
What is the coldest month in Santa Maria?
December, with a normal high of 64°F and a normal low of 40°F. The warmest is August (74°F by day, 55°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Santa Maria?
February, with 2.85 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Santa Maria in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Santa Maria in zone 9b in ZIP code 93458. By the same method at Santa Maria's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 28°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Santa Maria?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 4; in one year in ten it comes after March 16. Waiting until March 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Santa Maria in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Twitchell Dam, CA9 miles from this station, 58.4°F a year
- Lompoc, CA17 miles from this station, 59.3°F a year
- Pismo Beach, CA22 miles from this station, 59.1°F a year
- San Luis Obispo, CA25 miles from this station, 59.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made