Santa Monica, California climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Santa Monica's normal year runs from 48°F December nights to 77°F August afternoons, with 13.4 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.1°C, December lows of 9°C, August highs of 25°C, 342 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSanta Monica Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00093197
- Location34.02°N 118.45°W
- Elevation174 ft (53 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population90,729
On October 14, the normal high in Santa Monica is 74°F and the normal low 59°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Monica.
- Jan 66° 49°
- Feb 66° 49°
- Mar 66° 51°
- Apr 68° 53°
- May 69° 57°
- Jun 71° 60°
- Jul 75° 63°
- Aug 77° 63°
- Sep 76° 62°
- Oct 74° 58°
- Nov 70° 52°
- Dec 66° 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 Monica each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 48°F. The most precipitation falls in February (3.34 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 | 66°F | 49°F | 57.3°F | 3.28 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 66°F | 49°F | 57.3°F | 3.34 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| March | 66°F | 51°F | 58.7°F | 2.09 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 68°F | 53°F | 60.4°F | 0.56 | 3 | 1 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 69°F | 57°F | 62.7°F | 0.26 | 2 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 71°F | 60°F | 65.5°F | 0.08 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 75°F | 63°F | 69.0°F | 0.04 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 77°F | 63°F | 69.8°F | 0.01 | <1 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 76°F | 62°F | 69.2°F | 0.14 | 1 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 74°F | 58°F | 66.1°F | 0.55 | 4 | 2 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 70°F | 52°F | 61.0°F | 0.76 | 4 | 1 | <1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 66°F | 48°F | 57.0°F | 2.34 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 70°F | 55°F | 62.8°F | 13.45 | 38 | 5 | <1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°C | 9°C | 14.1°C | 83 mm |
| February | 19°C | 9°C | 14.1°C | 85 mm |
| March | 19°C | 11°C | 14.8°C | 53 mm |
| April | 20°C | 12°C | 15.8°C | 14 mm |
| May | 21°C | 14°C | 17.1°C | 7 mm |
| June | 22°C | 15°C | 18.6°C | 2 mm |
| July | 24°C | 17°C | 20.6°C | 1 mm |
| August | 25°C | 17°C | 21.0°C | 0 mm |
| September | 24°C | 17°C | 20.7°C | 4 mm |
| October | 23°C | 15°C | 18.9°C | 14 mm |
| November | 21°C | 11°C | 16.1°C | 19 mm |
| December | 19°C | 9°C | 13.9°C | 59 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093197; 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 Monica?
Every month's normal high in Santa Monica 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 USW00093197.
What hardiness zone is each Santa Monica ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Santa Monica's 5 ZIP code areas are all in zone 11a. 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 Monica?
In a normal year in Santa Monica, 5 days a year reach 90°F, nights almost never fall to freezing and 38 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 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
- 38a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 103°F, on September 27, 2010; the lowest is 32°F, on January 14, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 28.00 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00093197; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00093197. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Santa Monica?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Santa Monica, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (97%) and February the cloudiest (82%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 21st (with 17 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 82% | 4.0 |
| March | 85% | 5.4 |
| April | 87% | 6.7 |
| May | 89% | 7.5 |
| June | 93% | 8.1 |
| July | 95% | 7.9 |
| August | 97% | 7.5 |
| September | 95% | 6.3 |
| October | 91% | 4.8 |
| November | 88% | 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 Monica need?
A normal year in Santa Monica brings 1,388 heating degree days, 74% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 613 cooling degree days, 32% fewer than the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,708 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 244 | 7 |
| February | 222 | 7 |
| March | 205 | 10 |
| April | 153 | 16 |
| May | 86 | 16 |
| June | 22 | 37 |
| July | 4 | 128 |
| August | 3 | 153 |
| September | 8 | 134 |
| October | 45 | 78 |
| November | 143 | 25 |
| December | 252 | 3 |
| Year (annual) | 1,388 | 613 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00093197. 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 Monica been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 62.8°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 62.8°F. 1 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62.2°F | −0.6°F | 10.73 |
| 2022 | 63.7°F | +0.9°F | 6.10 |
| 2023 | 61.7°F | −1.1°F | 28.00 |
| 2024 | 62.5°F | −0.3°F | 19.56 |
| 2025 | 62.8°F | at normal | 17.72 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00093197. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Santa Monica's climate compare?
Santa Monica is warmer than 142 of the other 218 places with their own NOAA record in California, and wetter than 84. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.8°F is warmer than 82%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Santa Monica is BSk: cold 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 Monica share this climate record?
Marina del Rey has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Marina del Rey, CA8,844 people · 3 mi S
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 Monica's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Santa Monica. This page uses Santa Monica Municipal 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 Monica Pier USC00047953 | in town | 14 ft | 60.5°F | 50°F | 69°F | 12.2 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Santa Monica's climate
What is the coldest month in Santa Monica?
December, with a normal high of 66°F and a normal low of 48°F. The warmest is August (77°F by day, 63°F at night).
Does it snow in Santa Monica?
Rarely. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Santa Monica's NOAA station; Santa Monica's own co-op station Santa Monica Pier records 0 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Santa Monica?
February, with 3.34 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.01 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Santa Monica in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Santa Monica in zone 11a across its 5 ZIP code areas (11a in 90405, the largest). By the same method at Santa Monica's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 39°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 10b.
Nearby and next
- Santa Monica in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- California climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Culver City, CA2 miles from this station, 63.7°F a year
- Santa Monica Pier, CA3 miles from this station, 60.5°F a year
- U C L A, CA4 miles from this station, 64.3°F a year
- Getty Center, CA5 miles from this station, 64.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made