Weather in Santa Cruz

14-day forecast · updated today, Wednesday, October 28, at 11:17 pm (PDT)

Now · overcast 56 °F

Feels like: 49 °F
Low / high: 46 / 69 °F
Rain: 0%
Wind: 5 mph N

→ 29.93 inHg · steady

Today in Santa Cruz: overcast, 46 °F to 69 °F, with a 0% chance of rain and a light breeze from the north (5 mph). Tomorrow, overcast, 52 °F to 67 °F and a 3% chance of rain. The warmest day of the week is Wednesday 28, at 69 °F. Next likely rain: Tuesday 3 (19%).

Temperatures for the next 14 days

69° 46°
Today
67° 52°
Thu 29
64° 51°
Fri 30
62° 49°
Sat 31
66° 48°
Sun 1
68° 47°
Mon 2
68° 52°
Tue 3
67° 51°
Wed 4
66° 50°
Thu 5
65° 51°
Fri 6
67° 51°
Sat 7
71° 52°
Sun 8
75° 55°
Mon 9
74° 60°
Tue 10

Day by day

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind	Max wave	High tides	Model
Today · 28	Overcast	46 / 69 °F	0%	10 mph NNW	4.8 ft	1:01 am · 11:39 am	HRRR
Thu 29	Overcast	52 / 67 °F	3%	10 mph NW	4.5 ft	2:10 am · 12:26 pm	HRRR + NBM
Fri 30	Overcast	51 / 64 °F	3%	6 mph NW	4.2 ft	3:26 am · 1:22 pm	NBM
Sat 31	Light drizzle	49 / 62 °F	13%	5 mph N	3.8 ft	4:43 am · 2:30 pm	NBM
Sun 1	Light drizzle	48 / 66 °F	10%	8 mph NNW	5.4 ft	4:46 am · 2:51 pm	NBM
Mon 2	Overcast	47 / 68 °F	3%	3 mph NE	5.8 ft	5:35 am · 4:17 pm	NBM
Tue 3	Overcast	52 / 68 °F	19% · 0.14 in	4 mph ENE	5.8 ft	6:14 am · 5:39 pm	NBM
Wed 4	Partly cloudy	51 / 67 °F	20% · 0.07 in	5 mph NNW	5.1 ft	6:49 am · 6:52 pm	NBM
Thu 5	Light drizzle	50 / 66 °F	9%	6 mph WNW	5.2 ft	7:20 am · 7:56 pm	NBM
Fri 6	Overcast	51 / 65 °F	11%	8 mph NW	11 ft	7:50 am · 8:55 pm	NBM
Sat 7	Overcast	51 / 67 °F	7%	4 mph NNW	10 ft	8:18 am · 9:50 pm	NBM
Sun 8	Overcast	52 / 71 °F	11% · 0.02 in	4 mph N	11 ft	8:46 am · 10:42 pm	NBM + ECMWF
Mon 9	Overcast	55 / 75 °F	9%	4 mph NNW	11 ft	9:14 am · 11:33 pm	ECMWF
Tue 10	Partly cloudy	60 / 74 °F	18%	3 mph SSW	8.3 ft	9:43 am	ECMWF

Each hour comes from the best model for this spot: HRRR until Thursday 29 6:00 pm; then NBM until Sunday 8 5:00 pm; then ECMWF until Thursday 12 7:00 am; then GFS.

Each day comes from the best model covering this spot: regional ones first (HRRR and NBM in the U.S., AROME, ICON-EU), then ECMWF; day 16, NOAA GFS. Waves: Météo-France up to day 10, then ECMWF WAM, coarser and further offshore. High tides: our own tide calculation.

Today, 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
Sky	Mainly clear	Mainly clear	Overcast	Partly cloudy	Mainly clear	Overcast	Overcast	Overcast
Temperature	49°	48°	46°	55°	67°	69°	64°	59°
Chance of rain	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Rain	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in	0.00 in
Wind (mph)	6 NNE	6 NNE	6 NNE	4 NNE	4 SSW	8 WSW	6 W	7 NNE
Humidity	65%	72%	79%	66%	50%	51%	56%	34%
UV	0	0	0	1	4	2	0	0
Model	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR	HRRR

Do the models agree?

Medium confidence

They broadly agree, but not quite on rain on Saturday 31: take it with some caution.

What 6 forecast models say for the next few days. The closer they are, the more reliable the forecast.

HighRainWind

Do the models agree? · High
High (°F)	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	69°	67°	66°	63°	67°	69°	72°
AIFS	69°	65°	65°	62°	63°	65°	65°
GFS	69°	66°	64°	62°	70°	70°	71°
ICON	73°	68°	69°	62°	65°	72°	72°
HRRR	69°	67°	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	70°	66°	64°	62°	66°	68°	68°
Confidence	high	high	high	high	high	high	high

Do the models agree? · Rain
Rain	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	0	0	0	0.05 in	0.04 in	0	0
AIFS	0	0	0	0.07 in	0	0	0
GFS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
ICON	0	0.01 in	0	0.14 in	0	0	0
HRRR	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.14 in
Confidence	high	high	high	medium	high	high	high

Do the models agree? · Wind
Wind (mph)	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF	614	614	920	717	616	715	413
AIFS	5	6	6	5	11	4	6
GFS	710	78	88	78	811	87	68
ICON	410	616	512	415	1024	413	49
HRRR	1015	1013	—	—	—	—	—
NBM	715	410	613	511	815	38	49
Confidence	high	high	high	high	high	high	high

Chance of rain from the ensemble models

Model	Today	Thu 29	Fri 30	Sat 31	Sun 1	Mon 2	Tue 3
ECMWF (51 scenarios)	0%	2%	4%	14%	18%	0%	12%
GFS (GEFS, 31 scenarios)	0%	6%	6%	26%	24%	0%	7%
NBM (NOAA)	0%	3%	3%	13%	10%	3%	19%
Thunderstorm (NBM)	0%	0%	0%	1%	1%	0%	0%

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.

Outlook

How the coming weeks and months compare with what is normal for the time of year. It is a trend, not a day-by-day forecast.

Next few weeks, compared with normal: much warmer, wetter and a much warmer sea.

Next 6 weeks

When	TemperatureTemp.	Rain	Sea	Typical high / low
Nov 2 – Nov 8Nov 2–Nov 8	Well above +5.8 °F	Normal	Well above +10.1 °F	—
Nov 9 – Nov 15Nov 9–Nov 15	Well above +7.2 °F	Well above +188%	Well above +11.7 °F	65° / 59°
Nov 16 – Nov 22Nov 16–Nov 22	Well above +6.5 °F	Well above +121%	Well above +12.4 °F	64° / 58°
Nov 23 – Nov 29Nov 23–Nov 29	Well above +6.7 °F	Above +60%	Well above +12.8 °F	63° / 56°
Nov 30 – Dec 6Nov 30–Dec 6	Well above +6.1 °F	Above +71%	Well above +12.6 °F	62° / 56°

Coming months

When	TemperatureTemp.	Rain	Sea
November	Well above +6.7 °F	Above +95%	Well above +13.3 °F
December	Well above +6.1 °F	Above +72%	Well above +12.4 °F
January	Above +5.2 °F	Well above +150%	Well above +10.1 °F
February	Above +4.0 °F	Well above +120%	Well above +7.7 °F
March	Above +3.6 °F	Well above +116%	Well above +6.1 °F

Weeks: ECMWF 46-day (average of its scenarios), against the normal of the last 20 years for those dates. Months: ECMWF SEAS5. Rain: total against normal. The further ahead, the closer it gets to normal and the less detail it can give.

Santa Cruz climate by monthClimate by month

Normal weather for each month (1991–2020 averages)

The best time to visit Santa Cruz is from June to September: highs of 73 °F to 75 °F, barely 1 rainy day a month and 10 hours of sunshine a day.

62° 41°

JanJ
63° 42°

FebF
65° 44°

MarM
68° 45°

AprA
70° 48°

MayM
73° 50°

JunJ
74° 51°

JulJ
74° 52°

AugA
75° 51°

SepS
73° 47°

OctO
66° 44°

NovN
61° 40°

DecD

Highs and lows
Monthly rainfall
Best time

Month	High	Low	Rain	Rainy daysDays	Sun (h/day)	Water	Waves
JanuaryJan	62°	41°	6.12 in	9	3.7	55°	7.5 ft
FebruaryFeb	63°	42°	5.91 in	9	4.2	55°	7.5 ft
MarchMar	65°	44°	4.30 in	8	6.7	55°	7.0 ft
AprilApr	68°	45°	2.11 in	4	8.1	54°	6.9 ft
MayMay	70°	48°	0.82 in	2	9.0	54°	6.2 ft
JuneJun	73°	50°	0.26 in	1	10.6	55°	6.0 ft
JulyJul	74°	51°	0.11 in	0	10.0	57°	5.3 ft
AugustAug	74°	52°	0.08 in	0	9.5	58°	4.7 ft
SeptemberSep	75°	51°	0.15 in	0	8.8	58°	5.3 ft
OctoberOct	73°	47°	1.52 in	2	7.2	58°	5.9 ft
NovemberNov	66°	44°	3.21 in	5	5.6	57°	6.6 ft
DecemberDec	61°	40°	5.58 in	9	3.6	55°	7.5 ft

Month	Water	Waves
Jan	55°	7.5 ft
Feb	55°	7.5 ft
Mar	55°	7.0 ft
Apr	54°	6.9 ft
May	54°	6.2 ft
Jun	55°	6.0 ft
Jul	57°	5.3 ft
Aug	58°	4.7 ft
Sep	58°	5.3 ft
Oct	58°	5.9 ft
Nov	57°	6.6 ft
Dec	55°	7.5 ft

Days: rainy days in the month. Sun: hours a day.

A normal year brings 30.16 in of rain on about 50 days and about 2,650 hours of sunshine.

1991–2020 averages. Highs, lows and rainfall: TerraClimate; rainy days (0.04 in or more): NASA POWER (MERRA-2); sunshine hours: estimated from solar radiation; water: NOAA OISST; waves (average height): ERA5, 2011–2020. Normals are not a forecast: any given year can turn out very different. Sources and licenses

Temperature

Now56 °Ffeels like 49 °F

Tomorrow52 / 67 °F

It's 56 °F now (feels like 49 °F). Today, 46 °F to 69 °F; tomorrow, 52 °F to 67 °F.

Chance of rain

Today 0%
Thu 29 3%
Fri 30 3%
Sat 31 13%
Sun 1 10%
Mon 2 3%
Tue 3 19% 0.14 in

Today the chance of rain reaches 0%. The next day with likely rain is Tuesday 3: 19% and 0.14 in.

Recent rain: last 24 hours, 0.00 in; last 3 days, 0.00 in; last 7 days, 0.28 in.

Humidity and dew point

Humidity37%

Dew point30 °F

Humidity is 37% now and the dew point is 30 °F.

The dew point is the temperature at which the air becomes saturated: the higher it is, the heavier the air feels.

Visibility and fog

Now33 migood

Clouds97%

Visibility is good now (33 mi). No fog expected today.

The model gives visibility up to about 15 mi: beyond that, the horizon is clear.

UV index

Now0

Today's peak4moderate

Thu 29: 3 · Fri 30: 4 · Sat 31: 1

Index	Level	What to do
0–2	low	No special protection needed.
3–5	moderate	Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen around midday.
6–7	high	Sunscreen, hat and shade between 12 and 4 pm.
8–10	very high	Avoid the midday sun; reflection off the water adds to it.
11+	extreme	Avoid the sun between 11 am and 5 pm; protect yourself even if it is cloudy.

Reflection off water and sand adds radiation: protect yourself more on a boat or at the beach.

Barometric pressure

↗ Rising Anglers say fish bite less for a while
→ Steady · now Anglers expect normal activity
↘ Falling Anglers say fish feed more before the change

29.8029.9030.0030.10 29.85

Steady now (−0.02 inHg in 3 hours). It barely changes over the next 48 hours. Steady pressure: anglers expect normal activity. Fast changes, either way, tend to affect fishing.

Air and pollen

Air qualityModerate · 53

Saharan dustNo

Previous days

The weather over the last 30 days, as the models analyzed it. Tap a day to see it hour by hour.

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind
Tue 27	Overcast	50 / 65 °F	0	9 mph NW
Mon 26	Overcast	54 / 69 °F	0	7 mph NW
Sun 25	Overcast	54 / 70 °F	0	4 mph WNW
Sat 24	Clear sky	49 / 69 °F	0	6 mph NNW
Fri 23	Overcast	53 / 70 °F	0	7 mph NNW
Thu 22	Heavy drizzle	56 / 61 °F	0.28 in	6 mph NW
Wed 21	Drizzle	56 / 64 °F	0.08 in	6 mph NE

Show all 30 days

Day	Sky	Low / high	Rain	Max wind
Tue 20	Light drizzle	50 / 68 °F	0.01 in	5 mph NNW
Mon 19	Overcast	54 / 66 °F	0	8 mph W
Sun 18	Clear sky	56 / 76 °F	0	6 mph SSW
Sat 17	Clear sky	67 / 88 °F	0	6 mph NNE
Fri 16	Clear sky	63 / 84 °F	0	4 mph NNE
Thu 15	Clear sky	57 / 82 °F	0	5 mph NNW
Wed 14	Clear sky	55 / 73 °F	0	6 mph SW
Tue 13	Clear sky	49 / 73 °F	0	4 mph N
Mon 12	Clear sky	53 / 66 °F	0	9 mph SSW
Sun 11	Partly cloudy	51 / 65 °F	0	10 mph WSW
Sat 10	Overcast	54 / 69 °F	0	11 mph W
Fri 9	Overcast	58 / 64 °F	0	6 mph SW
Thu 8	Overcast	62 / 81 °F	0	5 mph S
Wed 7	Mainly clear	67 / 88 °F	0	5 mph WSW
Tue 6	Partly cloudy	63 / 81 °F	0	4 mph S
Mon 5	Partly cloudy	64 / 81 °F	0	5 mph SSE
Sun 4	Mainly clear	67 / 86 °F	0	5 mph SSW
Sat 3	Mainly clear	65 / 85 °F	0	4 mph SSW
Fri 2	Overcast	58 / 76 °F	0	4 mph SW
Thu 1	Overcast	56 / 73 °F	0	5 mph SSW
Wed 30	Partly cloudy	58 / 74 °F	0	5 mph SSE
Tue 29	Overcast	54 / 79 °F	0	4 mph SSE
Mon 28	Overcast	51 / 72 °F	0	7 mph S

These are the models at the start of each day (ECMWF and GFS; waves from Météo-France), not readings from a weather station: there can be differences at specific spots.

Questions about the weather in Santa CruzQuestions

What's the weather like today in Santa Cruz?

Overcast, from 46 °F to 69 °F, with a light breeze from the north (5 mph) and a 0% chance of rain.

Will it rain tomorrow in Santa Cruz?

On Thursday 29 the chance of rain is 3% (0.00 in): overcast.

How warm will it be this week?

Between a low of 46 °F and a high of 69 °F; the warmest day, Wednesday 28.

What's the UV index today?

It reaches 4 (moderate). Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen around midday.

Is the pressure rising or falling?

It's 29.93 inHg and steady: −0.08 inHg over the last 24 hours.

When is the best time to visit Santa Cruz?

The best time to visit Santa Cruz is from June to September: highs of 73 °F to 75 °F, barely 1 rainy day a month and 10 hours of sunshine a day.

What is the weather like in Santa Cruz in October?

In October, Santa Cruz normally sees highs of 73 °F and lows of 47 °F, with about 2 rainy days (1.52 in for the month) and 7 hours of sunshine a day. The sea is around 58 °F. These are 1991–2020 averages.

What are the warmest and wettest months in Santa Cruz?

The warmest is September, with average highs of 75 °F, and the coldest December, with lows of 40 °F. The wettest is January (6.12 in) and the driest, August.

More about Santa Cruz today

Weather near Santa Cruz

Only places with a different forecast: spots a few miles apart share the same model cell and wouldn't add anything.

Learn more

Weather: 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); ECMWF grid point 2.5 mi away. The comparison also uses ICON (DWD), AIFS (ECMWF) and ARPEGE (Météo-France). Outlook: ECMWF 46-day and SEAS5. Chance of rain from ensemble models (ECMWF, GEFS and NBM). UV, air quality and pollen: CAMS (Copernicus).

Forecast from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) with models from ECMWF, NOAA, Météo-France, DWD, Copernicus Marine and CAMS. Updated at 11:17 pm (local time).

Spotted a mistake? Tell us · Where the weather and sea data come from