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Monthly climate in Santa Cruz, California, United States

Last updated: May 6, 2024

Under the Köppen–Geiger climate classification Santa Cruz features a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb).Temperatures typically range between 11 °C (53 °F) and 16 °C (62 °F) through the year, but rarely can drop to 5 °C (42 °F) or can rise to as high as 31 °C (88 °F).The average annual precipitation amounts to about 687 mm (27.0 inches) and receives 52 rainy days on the 1 mm (0.04 inches) threshold annually.Santa Cruz enjoys an average of 3450 hours of sunshine throughout the year, and daylight varies from 9 hours 39 minutes to 14 hours 38 minutes per day.

Monthly average temperatures in Santa Cruz, California, United States §

The warmest months in Santa Cruz are August, September and October, with daily mean temperatures ranging from 16 to 16 °C (60 - 62 °F) throughout the day. The coldest temperatures usually occur in January, February and March, when daily mean temperatures range from 11 to 11 °C (53 - 53 °F) throughout the day. On average each year, Santa Cruz experiences 2 days above 25 °C (77.0 °F) and 0 days below 0 °C (32.0 °F).

Monthly average temperatures with daily means, minimums and maximums for period, average high and low temperatures in Santa Cruz, California, United States.Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information.Data for period from January 2017 to June 2022.
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Maximum 18°C
(65°F)		 21°C
(70°F)		 20°C
(68°F)		 24°C
(75°F)		 20°C
(68°F)		 29°C
(84°F)		 21°C
(70°F)		 24°C
(75°F)		 31°C
(88°F)		 29°C
(84°F)		 23°C
(73°F)		 21°C
(70°F)
Mean maximum 17°C
(62°F)		 18°C
(64°F)		 18°C
(64°F)		 19°C
(67°F)		 18°C
(64°F)		 20°C
(69°F)		 20°C
(68°F)		 21°C
(70°F)		 25°C
(76°F)		 26°C
(78°F)		 21°C
(70°F)		 18°C
(65°F)
Average high 13°C
(56°F)		 14°C
(57°F)		 13°C
(56°F)		 14°C
(58°F)		 15°C
(59°F)		 16°C
(61°F)		 16°C
(62°F)		 17°C
(64°F)		 18°C
(65°F)		 18°C
(65°F)		 16°C
(61°F)		 14°C
(57°F)
Daily mean 11°C
(53°F)		 11°C
(53°F)		 11°C
(53°F)		 12°C
(54°F)		 13°C
(55°F)		 14°C
(58°F)		 15°C
(59°F)		 16°C
(61°F)		 16°C
(62°F)		 16°C
(60°F)		 14°C
(57°F)		 12°C
(53°F)
Average low 10°C
(50°F)		 9°C
(49°F)		 10°C
(50°F)		 11°C
(51°F)		 11°C
(53°F)		 13°C
(55°F)		 13°C
(56°F)		 14°C
(58°F)		 15°C
(59°F)		 14°C
(57°F)		 12°C
(53°F)		 10°C
(50°F)
Mean minimum 7°C
(44°F)		 6°C
(44°F)		 7°C
(45°F)		 8°C
(47°F)		 10°C
(50°F)		 11°C
(52°F)		 12°C
(53°F)		 13°C
(55°F)		 13°C
(55°F)		 11°C
(52°F)		 9°C
(48°F)		 8°C
(46°F)
Minimum 6°C
(42°F)		 5°C
(42°F)		 6°C
(42°F)		 7°C
(44°F)		 8°C
(47°F)		 11°C
(51°F)		 11°C
(52°F)		 12°C
(54°F)		 11°C
(53°F)		 9°C
(48°F)		 6°C
(44°F)		 7°C
(45°F)

Compare climate in Santa Cruz with other places

Compare temperature, precipitation, sunshine, UV index in Santa Cruz, California, United States with other places around the world.

Monthly average precipitation in Santa Cruz, California, United States §

Santa Cruz usually has the most precipitation in January, February and December, with an average of 8 rainy days and 137 mm (5.4 inches) of precipitation per month.The driest months in Santa Cruz are July, August and September. On average, 2 mm (0.1 inches) of precipitation falls during these months.

Monthly average precipitation and precipitation days in Santa Cruz, California, United States.Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information.Data for period from January 2017 to January 2022.
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average precipitation mm (inches) 148 (5.8) 136 (5.3) 110 (4.3) 42 (1.6) 23 (0.9) 4 (0.2) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 2 (0.1) 31 (1.2) 61 (2.4) 126 (4.9)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 9 7 11 5 3 1 0 0 0 2 5 9

Monthly sunshine hours in Santa Cruz, California, United States §

The sunniest months in Santa Cruz are May, June and July, when the sun shines an average of 12 hours 5 minutes a day.Least sunny months in Santa Cruz: January, February and December receive an average of 6 hours 28 minutes of sunshine daily.

Mean monthly sunshine duration, average sunshine hours per day and mean daily daylight hours in Santa Cruz, California, United States.Generated using Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information.Data for period from January 2017 to January 2022.
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Mean monthly sunshine hours 161 222 268 302 360 373 379 347 310 286 232 205
Mean daily daylight hours 9h 56m 10h 50m 11h 59m 13h 10m 14h 9m 14h 38m 14h 22m 13h 29m 12h 21m 11h 11m 10h 10m 9h 39m

Solar UV radiation in Santa Cruz, California, United States §

Santa Cruz experiences the highest level of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in May, June and July, when the maximum UV index can reach values of 11 - 11, which corresponds to the Extreme category of sun exposure.January, February and December are in the Moderate exposure category. In these months, the maximum values of the UV index do not exceed 5. For more detailed information, check out our hourly Santa Cruz UV Index data.

Average daily maximum UV levels by month for Santa Cruz, California, United States.Generated using Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information.Data for period from January 2022 to January 2023.
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
UV Index (month maximum) 4 5 8 9 11 11 11 10 9 7 5 3