ERA5 almanac comparison — 8 years of real data
Palm Desert vs Santa Barbara: weather in July
Essentially a tie in July: Palm Desert is 97% clear historically, Santa Barbara is 93% clear (8-year ERA5 average) — within the noise. Avg high 109°F vs 84°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 July. For this
week’s actual forecast, each destination links to its live page below.
Palm Desert
CA
- Clear days, July
- 97%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 109°F
- Early July (1st–15th)
- 100%
- Late July (16th–end)
- 94%
- Rain frequency
- 1% of days
Santa Barbara
CA
- Clear days, July
- 93%
- Sample size
- n=248 days
- Avg high
- 84°F
- Early July (1st–15th)
- 91%
- Late July (16th–end)
- 95%
- Rain frequency
- 1% of days
Compare Palm Desert 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.