Typical August weather
Santa Cruz
California · August
73° days
53° nights
rain is rare · 13½ hours of daylight · ocean 61°
What to pack
- Light jacket
- Sunscreen
What August feels like
August is the crowd peak, with the wharf and the boardwalk both at capacity on weekends. The fog often clears earlier than it did in June, which makes the afternoons genuinely warm — the ocean does not follow.
Rain is genuinely rare — most years, August stays dry start to finish.
Can you swim?
The ocean runs about 61° — cold — a quick dip takes resolve.
The numbers
| Typical high | 73° |
|---|---|
| Typical low | 53° |
| Days with real rain | 0 |
| Total rain | under 0.1 in |
| Water temperature | 61° |
| Sunrise / sunset (mid-month) | 6:25 am / 7:59 pm |