Santa Monica, CA

Climate overview — based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals from SANTA MONICA PIER, CA US.

BSk Semi-arid (cold) climate 10a USDA hardiness Zone 10a

Year-round temperatures (°F)

40° 50° 60° 70° J F M A M J J A S O N D
Avg high Avg low

Climate summary

Santa Monica has an annual average temperature of 60.5°F with about 12.2 inches of precipitation per year. The warmest month is September (average high 70.0°F), and the coldest is December (average low 49.5°F). February is typically the wettest month (3.10 in) and August the driest (0.01 in).

Pleasant months
6 / 12
avg high 65–80°F, low ≥ 50°F
Annual swing
10.2°F
warmest to coldest month
Heating need
1,680
Cooling need
57

Best time to visit Santa Monica

Full guide →

Climate change signal

All-time records →

0 of 366 (0%) of Santa Monica's all-time daily heat records have been set since 2015. If records were spread evenly across the station's history, only about 5% would fall in any given decade.

1930s
28
1940s
75
1950s
67
1960s
44
1970s
52
1980s
47
1990s
24
2000s
29

Bars: number of all-time daily heat records still standing that were set in each decade.

Monthly averages

Month Avg High Avg Low Avg Temp Precipitation Snow Rainy days
January 62.0°F 49.6°F 55.8°F 3.08 in 7
February 62.2°F 49.7°F 56.0°F 3.10 in 7
March 61.8°F 51.8°F 56.8°F 1.74 in 5
April 63.4°F 53.2°F 58.3°F 0.57 in 2
May 63.4°F 55.8°F 59.6°F 0.23 in 1
June 66.3°F 59.2°F 62.7°F 0.05 in 1
July 69.4°F 61.5°F 65.4°F 0.03 in 1
August 69.7°F 62.3°F 66.0°F 0.01 in 0
September 70.0°F 60.9°F 65.5°F 0.03 in 0
October 67.5°F 58.5°F 63.0°F 0.49 in 2
November 66.9°F 53.6°F 60.3°F 0.81 in 2
December 63.4°F 49.5°F 56.5°F 2.03 in 5

Climate twins of Santa Monica

Why these? →

The most climatically similar US cities at least 140 miles away (by monthly temperature + precipitation pattern).

Frost dates
Last spring / first fall frost
All-time records
Hottest, coldest, wettest
Planting calendar
What to plant, and when

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