Live Oak in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Live Oak sees average daytime highs around 56°F and overnight lows near 49°F, with 16.5 in of rain over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 56°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Live Oak's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Live Oak has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Live Oak's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
56°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
49°F
Rainfall
16.5 in
29 wet days
Avg wind
7 mph
Travel score
3.8
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Live Oak in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 56°F.

A typical winter day in Live Oak reaches about 56°F and drops to 49°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

40°50°60°70°DecJanFeb

Live Oak weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan56° / 49°5.79.69.83.8
Feb56° / 49°5.69.410.63.8
Mar56° / 50°3.99.111.74.1
Apr57° / 51°1.8512.94.7
May58° / 52°0.83145.4
Jun60° / 54°0.20.914.56.5
Jul62° / 56°0.00.114.37.2
Aug63° / 57°0.00.113.47.8
Sep64° / 58°0.10.612.37.9
Oct63° / 56°1.22.9117.1
Nov59° / 52°2.66.1105.2
Dec56° / 49°5.39.69.53.9

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Live Oak gets around 16.5 in of rain over 29 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 7 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.8 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Live Oak

In seasonPeak

In winter, Live Oak overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Live Oak's rainy season runs November–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Live Oak?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.8
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Live Oak.

What to pack for Live Oak in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Live Oak sees daytime highs around 56°F and nights near 49°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Live Oak in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 55°F across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 9 mi away) is warmest in September at about 58°F and coldest in April near 54°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

52°54°56°58°60°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan55Bracing
Feb55Bracing
Mar55Bracing
Apr54Bracing
May54Bracing
Jun55Bracing
Jul57Bracing
Aug58Bracing
Sep58Bracing
Oct58Bracing
Nov56Bracing
Dec55Bracing

UV index in Live Oak in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Live Oak peaks around June 23 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 10Dec 13UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun10Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep6High
Oct5High
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Air quality in Live Oak in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Live Oak is worst in August — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.9× the cleanest month (June, 6 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1816 µg/m³Jun 186 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb9Good
Mar8Good
Apr7Good
May7Good
Jun6Good
Jul6Good
Aug17Moderate
Sep11Good
Oct10Good
Nov9Good
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is Live Oak?

Live Oak sits at 37.0°N, 122.0°W, 105 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Santa Cruz, 3.1 mi away.

Topography around Live Oak

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Live Oak.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Live Oak has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 545 ft around an average of 128 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,664 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,852 ft.

The land around Live Oak is covered by artificial surfaces (48%) and trees (38%) within 2 miles, trees (51%) and water (37%) within 10 miles, and water (32%), trees (29%) and grassland (27%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
545 ft
10 miles
2,664 ft
50 miles
4,852 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Santa Cruz 3.1 mi · Watsonville 13 mi · Los Gatos 17 mi · Saratoga 19 mi · Morgan Hill 21 mi · Campbell 21 mi · Prunedale 22 mi · Gilroy 23 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Live Oak (36.9836°, -121.9805°, elevation 105 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.