Santa Barbara, California Weather
California lilac blooms in winter light. Day 50 of autumn. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Santa Barbara weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
Conditions updated 12:05 PM PST · Open-Meteo
- TodayNov 10Clear——84°57°—
- WednesdayNov 11Clear——79°61°-5°
- ThursdayNov 12Overcast20%—74°60°-5°
- FridayNov 13Heavy Drizzle41%0.04″67°61°-7°
- SaturdayNov 14Showers41%0.38″69°58°+2°
- SundayNov 15Overcast26%—68°56°-1°
- MondayNov 16Drizzle34%0.08″65°53°-3°
Air quality now AQI 29 · Good
AQI 29 (Good), driven by Ozone. AQI flat over the last 6 hours (within ±4 points). Ozone at AQI 42 now. With UV 4.3 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 24.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion during the projected peak around 9 PM.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 42 now. With UV 4.3 peaking around 1 PM under clear skies, surface ozone likely climbs to AQI 24.
- Present
- AQI 42
- UV peak
- 4.3 at 1 PM
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 24
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 6.1 µg/m³ (AQI 34) with a 0.67 fine-to-coarse ratio and 6 mph wind — combustion smoke trapped in stagnant air, not road dust.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.67
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- stagnant smoke
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).
When the wind is in the west, the weather is at its best.
- Moonrise
- 8:04 AM
- Moonset
- 5:06 PM
- In sign
- ♐︎ Sagittarius
California lilac blooms in winter light
Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
All 72 microseasons on the year wheel →
Santa Barbara at a glance
- Today vs. normal: Today averages 71°F (high 84°F, low 57°F), 10°F above the 61°F normal for Nov 10
- Last frost: None in most years — 32°F in 11% of 1991–2020 years (NOAA station 4 km away)
- Microseason: Nov 6–10
- Planting calendar: November — plant lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes; harvest lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash
16-Day Forecast — Santa Barbara
- Tue85°57°0%
- Wed79°61°0%
- Thu74°60°20%
- Fri67°61°41%
- Sat69°58°41%
- Sun68°56°26%
- Mon65°53°34%
- Tue68°51°18%
- Wed69°53°39%
- Thu67°56°33%
- Fri68°56°13%
- Sat67°54°9%
- Sun69°55°16%
- Mon71°58°14%
- Tue70°59°10%
- Wed69°57°10%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Live wind & temperature near Santa Barbara
Interactive wind and temperature map centered on Santa Barbara — it loads in your browser. Open the full weather map.
Right now in the garden
Year-round growing
As of November 10, sowing here runs through the year. Freezes are uncommon, so there is no frost date to plan around; heat and rainfall set the calendar instead. This city's planting calendar for November: plant lettuce, peas, spinach, and radishes; harvest lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, and winter squash.
Sun & seasons in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara sits in Santa Barbara County, where the year’s longest day runs 14h 28m of daylight and its shortest just 9h 51m — a swing of +4h 37m between the June and December solstices. Clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 8, 2026 and fall back on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
Los Angeles, the state’s largest city, lies about 78 miles to the ESE. The nearest town Santa Barbara tracks is Oxnard, roughly 35 miles to the ESE.
Air quality in Santa Barbara
Air quality in Santa Barbara’s county has trended dirtier since 2020; its cleanest year on record was 2021 (median AQI 44). See the full air-quality history for Santa Barbara.
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| January | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| February | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| March | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, beans, summer squash |
| June | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash |
| July | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| August | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| September | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| October | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| November | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, summer squash, winter squash |
| December | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes |
A year in weather
August is Santa Barbara's warmest stretch (~69°F) and December its coldest (~56°F); precipitation crests in January at 4.4 inches and ebbs in August to 0.0 inches.
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 4.4″ | 7 |
| February | 57° | 4.4″ | 7 |
| March | 59° | 3.2″ | 7 |
| April | 61° | 1.0″ | 3 |
| May | 63° | 0.4″ | 2 |
| June | 65° | 0.1″ | 2 |
| July | 68° | 0.0″ | 0 |
| August | 69° | 0.0″ | 0 |
| September | 69° | 0.1″ | 1 |
| October | 66° | 0.8″ | 2 |
| November | 61° | 1.4″ | 3 |
| December | 56° | 3.1″ | 6 |
Regional context
Similar climates Mission Canyon, CA, Eastern Goleta Valley, CA, Montecito, CA
In Santa Barbara, NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals put January near 57°F and July near 68°F — a 12°F seasonal arc — with about 19 inches of precipitation over 40 rainy or snowy days.
Santa Barbara's moisture rides winter storm tracks: January brings 4.4 inches over 6.8 wet days, while August sees only 0.0 inches across 0.4 days in the dry warm season. That cool-season-wet pattern aligns Santa Barbara with places like Mission Canyon, CA, Eastern Goleta Valley, CA and Montecito, CA.
With a coldest-month mean of 56°F, Santa Barbara stays mostly frost-free and grows year-round. The August peak near 69°F is Santa Barbara's real limit, pushing cool-season vegetables to spring and fall. Santa Barbara's open lawns chill fastest on clear nights.
Similar climates: Mission Canyon, CA, Eastern Goleta Valley, CA, Montecito, CA, Summerland, CA, University of California-Santa Barbara, CA.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Santa Barbara?
- Most years Santa Barbara doesn't freeze: the nearest NOAA station reached 32°F in 11% of 1991–2020 years, so Santa Barbara has no reliable frost date.
- What is the rainy season in Santa Barbara?
- Santa Barbara sees its heaviest rain in January (around 4.4 inches), part of roughly 19 inches a year.
- What is the warmest month in Santa Barbara?
- August is Santa Barbara's warmest month, averaging about 69°F.
- What is the coldest month in Santa Barbara?
- Santa Barbara bottoms out in December, with a mean near 56°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Santa Barbara?
- Any season works in Santa Barbara: without a reliable freeze, Santa Barbara's heat, not frost, decides when greens and tomatoes do best.
- How many rainy days does Santa Barbara get?
- Santa Barbara records around 40 days of measurable precipitation annually.
- What hardiness zone is Santa Barbara?
- Santa Barbara sits in the USDA zone set by December lows near 56°F; the USDA ZIP tool gives the band.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Santa Barbara?
- Santa Barbara's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Santa Barbara?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Santa Barbara in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Santa Barbara?
- Current conditions for Santa Barbara and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Santa Barbara forecast updated?
- The Santa Barbara forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Santa Barbara?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Santa Barbara are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Santa Barbara?
- The next few days in Santa Barbara's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Santa Barbara sits at 34.4°N; its climate zone is hot-summer Mediterranean (Köppen approximation).
ZIP codes in Santa Barbara
- 93101
- 93102
- 93103
- 93105
- 93106
- 93108
- 93109
- 93110
- 93111
- 93120
- 93121
- 93130
- 93140
- 93190