ERA5 almanac comparison — 8 years of real data
Los Angeles vs Santa Barbara: weather in December
Essentially a tie in December: Los Angeles is 21% clear historically, Santa Barbara is 19% clear (8-year ERA5 average) — within the noise. Avg high 67°F vs 66°F. Pick based on flight time or price, not weather — the weather won't decide this one for you.
What you are reading: 8-year historical averages, not a forecast.
Either destination can still surprise you this specific December. For this
week’s actual forecast, each destination links to its live page below.
Los Angeles
CA
- Clear days, December
- 21%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 67°F
- Early December (1st–15th)
- 27%
- Late December (16th–end)
- 15%
- Rain frequency
- 19% of days
Santa Barbara
CA
- Clear days, December
- 19%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 66°F
- Early December (1st–15th)
- 21%
- Late December (16th–end)
- 17%
- Rain frequency
- 22% of days
Compare Los Angeles vs Santa Barbara in another month
All percentages are historical averages from the ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 8 full years (2018–2025). “Clear” means avg high ≥ 72 °F, precipitation < 1 mm, and a non-precipitation weather code. This is history, not a forecast. The live 7-day outlook for any destination is on its own page and may differ from the long-run average. Data from Open-Meteo.