Rancho Santa Margarita climate — normals and trends
Rancho Santa Margarita (United States) has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Csa) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 16.9 °C and it receives 456 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is August (23.8 °C on average) and the coldest is January (10.7 °C). Rainfall peaks in February.
Rancho Santa Margarita averages 2 frost days, 65 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 41 rainy days per year.
Rancho Santa Margarita has warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.23 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 5 to 0 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 44.5 °C (on 6 September 2020) and the coldest -7.8 °C (on 16 January 1949).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Rancho Santa MargaritaCalifornia
- coords
- 33.64°, -117.60°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
16.9°C
Average daily high
23.2°C
Average daily low
11.8°C
Annual rainfall
456mm
Sunshine / day
11.2h
Mean relative humidity
66%
Average peak wind
10.8km/h
Seasonal range
13.1°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
2 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
65 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
41 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.4 cm
Average feels-like high
23.0 °C
Average feels-like low
11.0 °C
Average peak gust
27.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
21 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.1 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.0 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.52 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
44.5 °C
6 September 2020
Coldest day
-7.8 °C
16 January 1949
Wettest day
100 mm
25 January 1969
Windiest day
34.8 km/h
30 November 1982
Strongest gust
90.7 km/h
30 November 1982
Hottest feels-like
44.5 °C
6 September 2020
Coldest feels-like
-12.5 °C
16 January 1949
Snowiest day
8.0 cm
29 January 1957
Sunniest day
14.0 h
13 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18.7 °C | +1.7 °C | 26 mm | -62 mm |
| Feb | 19.8 °C | +2.2 °C | 87 mm | -10 mm |
| Mar | 18.0 °C | -0.6 °C | 84 mm | +7 mm |
| Apr | 20.9 °C | 0.0 °C | 16 mm | -21 mm |
| May | 24.7 °C | +1.5 °C | 7 mm | -5 mm |
| Jun | 27.6 °C | +0.8 °C | 2 mm | -1 mm |
| Jul | 28.8 °C | -1.6 °C | 0 mm | -1 mm |
| Aug | 31.8 °C | +1.0 °C | 1 mm | -3 mm |
| Sep | 29.1 °C | -0.3 °C | 15 mm | +6 mm |
| Oct | 25.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 38 mm | +18 mm |
| Nov | 22.1 °C | +1.1 °C | 132 mm | +87 mm |
| Dec | 20.8 °C | +3.2 °C | 88 mm | +21 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Rancho Santa Margarita?
Rancho Santa Margarita has a hot-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 16.9 °C and it receives 456 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The hottest day measured in Rancho Santa Margarita between 1940 and 2025 was 6 September 2020, reaching 44.5 °C.
What is the coldest day in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The coldest day measured in Rancho Santa Margarita between 1940 and 2025 was 16 January 1949, at -7.8 °C.
Does it snow in Rancho Santa Margarita?
Almost never: Rancho Santa Margarita sees virtually no snow, with about 2 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Rancho Santa Margarita warmed?
Yes: Rancho Santa Margarita warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The wettest day measured in Rancho Santa Margarita between 1940 and 2025 was 25 January 1969, with 100 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The windiest day measured in Rancho Santa Margarita between 1940 and 2025 was 30 November 1982, with winds reaching 34.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The warmest month in Rancho Santa Margarita is August (23.8 °C on average); the coldest is January (10.7 °C).
How much does it rain in Rancho Santa Margarita?
Rancho Santa Margarita receives on average 456 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 41 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Rancho Santa Margarita?
Rancho Santa Margarita gets on average 11.2 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 4,088 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Rancho Santa Margarita?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Rancho Santa Margarita between 1940 and 2025 was 29 January 1957, with 8.0 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Rancho Santa Margarita?
Yes: Rancho Santa Margarita has on average 21 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Rancho Santa Margarita?
In Rancho Santa Margarita, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 44.5 °C on 6 September 2020, and the lowest was -12.5 °C on 16 January 1949.
Compare Rancho Santa Margarita with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Rancho Santa Margarita