Local temperature forecast performance

How accurate are temperature forecasts in Santa Ana, California?

Nighttime lows were less predictable than daytime highs in Santa Ana's next-day record. Lows missed by 3.3°F on average, compared with 2.7°F for highs.

See the current Santa Ana forecast

Opens ZIP 92701 using the nearest current station, which may differ from the archive station below.

What stands out

Santa Ana forecast findings

At a glance

Forecast day 1 accuracy

Highs Lows

Close to the national average

Santa Ana: 3.4°F typical miss National archive average: 3.5°F

Combined high and low results across forecast days 1, 3, 5, and 7.
High temperaturesForecast day 1
2.7°Ftypical miss

65% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmer0.4°F cooler than observed
Low temperaturesForecast day 1
3.3°Ftypical miss

53% came within 3°F

Usually coolerUsually warmerLittle warm or cool tendency

Error generally grows farther into the forecast

The dots show the typical miss on each forecast day.

Santa Ana temperature forecast error by forecast dayTypical miss by forecast day. day 1: high 2.7°F, low 3.3°F; day 3: high 3.3°F, low 3.4°F; day 5: high 3.6°F, low 3.5°F; day 7: high 4.0°F, low 3.5°F. typical miss ≤3°F 0°2°4°6°8°2.7°F3.3°FDay 13.3°F3.4°FDay 33.6°F3.5°FDay 54.0°F3.5°FDay 7
See within-3°F percentages and window timing
Day 1High: 65%Low: 53%
Day 3High: 55%Low: 53%
Day 5High: 55%Low: 52%
Day 7High: 51%Low: 55%

High and low windows represent the same numbered forecast day, but the high window ends 12 hours later and therefore has 12 more hours of lead time.

How forecasts change through the year

Each tile is forecast day 1’s typical miss.

Under 2°F2–3°F3–5°FOver 5°FNot enough data

High temperatures

Jan3.1°60 cases
Feb2.5°49 cases
Mar2.8°50 cases
Apr2.3°30 cases
May2.5°54 cases
Jun2.1°54 cases
Jul2.5°56 cases
Aug2.6°49 cases
Sep3.7°50 cases
Oct3.5°59 cases
Nov2.5°47 cases
Dec3.1°51 cases

Low temperatures

Jan4.8°60 cases
Feb4.5°49 cases
Mar3.4°46 cases
Apr3.2°52 cases
May3.1°57 cases
Jun2.6°53 cases
Jul2.3°56 cases
Aug1.7°29 cases
Sep2.2°50 cases
Oct3.8°60 cases
Nov3.5°49 cases
Dec4.3°52 cases
Data locationLOS ALAMITOS AAF (SLI)11.7 miles from central Santa Ana · Archive 2024-08-01–2026-07-28

Based on archived raw NBM forecasts compared with observed daily highs and lows near Santa Ana. Results describe this model archive, not every forecast provider.

How these numbers are calculated

The forecasts are raw NBM median temperature guidance initialized at 12Z. Results include multiple NBM model eras and are retrospective, so they describe this archive rather than guaranteeing future performance.

“Typical miss” is mean absolute error: the average size of the error regardless of direction. Warmer or cooler tendency is signed bias, which can be small even when individual errors are larger.

Read the complete calibration and verification methodology.