Typical May weather
Santa Cruz
California · May
69° days
48° nights
maybe one rainy day · 14 hours of daylight · ocean 57°
What to pack
- Sweater
What May feels like
The marine layer starts its seasonal shift — thick along the coast first thing, gone by the time you reach Scotts Valley. The boardwalk goes to full weekend hours and the beach parking gets serious.
Real rain shows up maybe one day all month; the rest stay dry.
Can you swim?
The ocean runs about 57° — frigid — locals in wetsuits only.
The numbers
| Typical high | 69° |
|---|---|
| Typical low | 48° |
| Days with real rain | 1 |
| Total rain | 0.9 in |
| Water temperature | 57° |
| Sunrise / sunset (mid-month) | 5:59 am / 8:09 pm |