Wind in Santa Barbara
Hourly forecast for 7 days · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 5:09 pm (PDT)- Gusts
- 5 mph
- Beaufort scale
- 2 · light breeze
- Today's peak
- 7 mph at 2:00 pm
- In knots
- 4 kn
Today the wind in Santa Barbara is a light breeze from the southwest: 3 mph to 7 mph, peaking at 2:00 pm with gusts of 9 mph. The windiest day of the week is Saturday 31: up to 12 mph from the east-southeast, with gusts of 14 mph.
Wind for the next 7 days, hour by hour
Arrows point where the wind blows to, every 12 hours. Each hour comes from the best model covering this spot: regional ones first (HRRR and NBM in the U.S., AROME, ICON-EU), then ECMWF and GFS.
- Today, Wed 28 3–7 mph · gusts 9 NNE · Beaufort 2
- Thu 29 2–9 mph · gusts 13 ESE · Beaufort 3
- Fri 30 2–12 mph · gusts 14 SE · Beaufort 3
- Sat 31 3–12 mph · gusts 14 ESE · Beaufort 3
- Sun 1 3–11 mph · gusts 15 NW · Beaufort 3
- Mon 2 3–7 mph · gusts 11 N · Beaufort 2
- Tue 3 3–7 mph · gusts 8 WNW · Beaufort 2
Every 3 hours
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Gusts | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Direction | ENE | NNE | NE | NE | SSE | SSW | WSW | NNW |
| Beaufort | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Model | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| Gusts | 6 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 4 |
| Direction | NNE | ENE | ENE | ENE | SSE | S | SSW | NNW |
| Beaufort | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Model | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | HRRR | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| Gusts | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Direction | E | E | E | E | SSE | SSW | WSW | NW |
| Beaufort | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Model | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
| Time | 12:00 am | 3:00 am | 6:00 am | 9:00 am | 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm | 6:00 pm | 9:00 pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind (mph) | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 4 |
| Gusts | 6 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Direction | ENE | E | E | ESE | SE | SSE | SSE | ESE |
| Beaufort | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Model | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM | NBM |
Do the models agree on the wind?
Medium confidenceThey roughly agree; there's more spread in the wind on Saturday 31.
What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.
| Wind (mph) | Today | Thu 29 | Fri 30 | Sat 31 | Sun 1 | Mon 2 | Tue 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECMWF | 516 | 619 | 823 | 416 | 1029 | 622 | 314 |
| AIFS | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| GFS | 65 | 911 | 78 | 57 | 95 | 65 | 64 |
| ICON | 511 | 511 | 511 | 1326 | 1428 | 612 | 611 |
| HRRR | 79 | 911 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NBM | 89 | 913 | 1214 | 1214 | 1115 | 711 | 78 |
| Confidence | high | high | high | medium | high | high | high |
Each model's day runs midnight to midnight local time; models that reach fewer days are left blank. Rain: daily total. Wind: the day's highest average wind and, in small type, the strongest gust. Highlighted: values that stand out from the rest. The chance of rain comes from many runs of the same model with slightly different starting data.
Onshore or offshore wind?
Today, from the southwest: onshore. More surf and backwash at the shore, and bait and boats drift toward land.
On Saturday 31, from the east-southeast: cross-shore.
The coast here faces southwest. We work it out from the OpenStreetMap coastline.
How to read the Beaufort scale
| Force | Name | mph | At sea |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light air | 1–3 | Ripples, no foam |
| 2 | Light breeze · today | 4–7 | Small wavelets |
| 3 | Gentle breeze · week peak | 8–12 | Scattered whitecaps |
| 4 | Moderate breeze | 13–18 | Frequent whitecaps |
| 5 | Fresh breeze | 19–24 | Moderate waves, many whitecaps |
| 6 | Strong breeze | 25–31 | Large waves, foam crests |
Questions about the wind in Santa BarbaraQuestions
What's the wind like today in Santa Barbara?
Light breeze from the southwest: 4 mph now, peaking at 7 mph at 2:00 pm with gusts of 9 mph.
Which day is windiest this week?
Saturday 31: up to 12 mph from the east-southeast, with gusts of 14 mph.
Is it a good day to go fishing by boat?
Today the wind is light breeze and waves are 2.7 ft. No strong gusts expected this week. Always check official warnings before heading out.
Is today's wind onshore or offshore?
Onshore: the coast faces southwest.
More about Santa Barbara today
Wind near Santa Barbara
- Summerland 4 mph WSW · 5.8 mi
- La Conchita 6 mph W · 15 mi
- Ventura 7 mph W · 25 mi
- Santa Paula 8 mph SW · 37 mi
- Malibu 6 mph WSW · 59 mi
- Oceano 6 mph W · 70 mi
Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.
Learn more
Wind: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0, with the best model for each spot and lead time (NOAA HRRR and NBM in the U.S., Météo-France AROME, DWD ICON-EU, ECMWF IFS and NOAA GFS; the table shows each hour's model); offshore, ECMWF and GFS at the nearest sea grid point, 12 mi away. Coast orientation: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 5:09 pm (local time).
Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from