Santa Ana climate
Santa Ana (California, United States) has a cold semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk). The average temperature over the year is 17 °C63 °F, and about 311 mm12 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Santa Ana climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1763 | 1355 | 1559 | 682.7 |
| Feb | 1762 | 1254 | 1458 | 732.9 |
| Mar | 1763 | 1355 | 1559 | 351.4 |
| Apr | 1763 | 1356 | 1560 | 180.7 |
| May | 1865 | 1458 | 1662 | 80.3 |
| Jun | 2068 | 1660 | 1864 | 10.0 |
| Jul | 2272 | 1864 | 2068 | 20.1 |
| Aug | 2373 | 1966 | 2169 | 10.0 |
| Sep | 2373 | 1966 | 2169 | 30.1 |
| Oct | 2271 | 1763 | 1967 | 150.6 |
| Nov | 2067 | 1559 | 1763 | 251.0 |
| Dec | 1763 | 1355 | 1559 | 642.5 |
| Year | 2373 | 1254 | 1763 | 31112 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 68% | 41% | 3.2 | 10:08 |
| Feb | 72% | 43% | 4.1 | 10:56 |
| Mar | 75% | 43% | 5.4 | 11:53 |
| Apr | 76% | 40% | 6.5 | 12:59 |
| May | 78% | 43% | 6.9 | 13:54 |
| Jun | 79% | 42% | 7.3 | 14:23 |
| Jul | 77% | 35% | 7.4 | 14:11 |
| Aug | 76% | 29% | 7.1 | 13:24 |
| Sep | 75% | 28% | 6.0 | 12:20 |
| Oct | 72% | 33% | 4.6 | 11:16 |
| Nov | 67% | 36% | 3.6 | 10:21 |
| Dec | 67% | 42% | 2.9 | 9:55 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Santa Ana is like
The warmest month is September, with an average high of 23 °C73 °F and a low of 19 °C66 °F. The coldest is February, when highs average 17 °C62 °F and lows 12 °C54 °F. Seasonal differences are small — just 6.4 °C11.6 °F between the warmest and the coolest month.
It is dry, with about 311 mm12 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is December–February, which brings 66% of the annual total. Months with less than 20 mm0.8 in on average: April–October. The wettest month is February (73 mm2.9 in), the driest is August (1 mm0.0 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 67% in November to 79% in June. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 28%) are typical of September. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 8 km/h (5 mph) in August to 11 km/h (7 mph) in April. Daylight lasts from about 9.9 hours in December to 14.4 hours in June.
Best time to visit Santa Ana
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are May–November: average highs of 18 °C65 °F to 23 °C73 °F with 1 mm0.0 in to 25 mm1.0 in of precipitation per month.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Santa Ana
- Winter (December–February) — highs around 17 °C62 °F, lows 1254 to 13 °C55 °F, about 68 mm2.7 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Spring (March–May) — highs 1763 to 18 °C65 °F, lows 1355 to 14 °C58 °F, about 20 mm0.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2068 to 23 °C73 °F, lows 1660 to 19 °C66 °F, about 1 mm0.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 2067 to 23 °C73 °F, lows 1559 to 19 °C66 °F, about 15 mm0.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket.
How Santa Ana compares
Compared with Anaheim, about 11 km to the northwest, Santa Ana is on average 2.3 °C4.2 °F cooler and receives 6% less precipitation (311 mm12 in vs 331 mm13 in). The difference is largest in July (5.5 °C10 °F cooler).
Of the 222 places in the United States covered by World Climates, Santa Ana is the 78th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 203rd wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the United States climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern (seasons shifted for the other hemisphere where needed): Viña del Mar (Chile, BSh), Safi (Morocco, BSh) and Al Bayda (Libya, BSk).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Irvine (pop. 256,927), Huntington Beach (pop. 201,899) and Costa Mesa (pop. 113,204). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Santa Ana, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Anaheim 11 km · 20 °C67 °F · 331 mm13 in
- Long Beach 30 km · 20 °C68 °F · 331 mm13 in
- West Covina 37 km · 19 °C67 °F · 331 mm13 in
- Los Angeles 49 km · 19 °C67 °F · 331 mm13 in
- Riverside 49 km · 20 °C68 °F · 289 mm11 in
- Murrieta 64 km · 17 °C63 °F · 298 mm12 in
- San Bernardino 67 km · 19 °C67 °F · 289 mm11 in
- Temecula 72 km · 20 °C68 °F · 299 mm12 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Santa Ana?
September is the warmest month in Santa Ana, with an average high of 23 °C (73 °F) and an average low of 19 °C (66 °F).
What is the coldest month in Santa Ana?
February is the coldest month, with an average high of 17 °C (62 °F) and an average low of 12 °C (54 °F).
When does it rain the most in Santa Ana?
February is the wettest month with about 73 mm (2.9 in) of precipitation; August is the driest with about 1 mm (0.0 in).
What is the best time to visit Santa Ana?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are May–November.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.