Santa Barbara weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · seaside town · Mediterranean climate
The best time to visit Santa Barbara is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 100/100), with August and June close behind. Santa Barbara averages about 3,525 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 28°C / 82°F and roughly 2 mm of rain in July.
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- Sun hours / year
- 3,525
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 100/100
- Rain / year
- 404 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 21°C / 70°F
- Population
- 92k
- Elevation
- Sea level
When is the best time to visit Santa Barbara?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Santa Barbara is July, then August and June. The dullest month is February (64/100, 78 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Santa Barbara?
Santa Barbara is one of the sunniest places on Earth: about 3,525 hours of sunshine a year. July (100/100) is noticeably better than February (64). It ranks #34 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,279 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around January, carries about 59% of the annual 404 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 90 mm | 3 | 15° / 59°F |
| February | 64 | 17° / 63°F | 10° / 50°F | 78 mm | 4 | 15° / 59°F |
| March | 81 | 19° / 66°F | 11° / 52°F | 63 mm | 6 | 15° / 59°F |
| April | 95 | 20° / 68°F | 12° / 54°F | 27 mm | 7 | 15° / 59°F |
| May | 98 | 23° / 73°F | 14° / 57°F | 11 mm | 8 | 16° / 61°F |
| June | 99 | 26° / 79°F | 17° / 63°F | 3 mm | 9 | 18° / 64°F |
| July | 100 | 28° / 82°F | 19° / 66°F | 2 mm | 10 | 20° / 68°F |
| August | 100 | 28° / 82°F | 19° / 66°F | 1 mm | 9 | 21° / 70°F |
| September | 99 | 28° / 82°F | 18° / 64°F | 3 mm | 7 | 21° / 70°F |
| October | 96 | 25° / 77°F | 16° / 61°F | 22 mm | 5 | 19° / 66°F |
| November | 94 | 21° / 70°F | 13° / 55°F | 32 mm | 3 | 15° / 59°F |
| December | 65 | 17° / 63°F | 11° / 52°F | 72 mm | 2 | 14° / 57°F |
Sea temperature in Santa Barbara by month
The sea off Santa Barbara is warmest in August at around 21°C / 70°F, and coolest in December at 14°C / 57°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 2 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Santa Barbara on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- San Luis Obispo United States · 116 km · best in Jun · 3,588 h sun/yr
- Los Angeles United States · 142 km · best in Jun · 3,009 h sun/yr
- Ontario United States · 210 km · best in May · 3,804 h sun/yr
- Fresno United States · 261 km · best in May · 3,516 h sun/yr
- Monterey United States · 301 km · best in Aug · 3,366 h sun/yr
- San Diego United States · 309 km · best in Jul · 2,854 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Santa Maria United States · 77 km · 3,121 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Bakersfield United States · 133 km · 3,612 h sun/yr · best in May
- Hawthorne United States · 149 km · 3,009 h sun/yr · best in Jun
Head-to-head
How Santa Barbara compares month by month: Santa Barbara vs Los Angeles · Santa Barbara vs Ontario · Santa Barbara vs San Luis Obispo · all comparisons
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