Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Scotts Valley United States

In Scotts Valley, the summers are long, comfortable, arid, and mostly clear and the winters are short, cold, wet, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 43°F to 70°F and is rarely below 36°F or above 79°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Scotts Valley for warm-weather activities is from late June to late September.

The warm season lasts for 4.4 months, from June 10 to October 21, with an average daily high temperature above 67°F. The hottest month of the year in Scotts Valley is September, with an average high of 70°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.6 months, from November 29 to February 15, with an average daily high temperature below 59°F. The coldest month of the year in Scotts Valley is December, with an average low of 43°F and high of 58°F.

In Scotts Valley, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Scotts Valley begins around May 27 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around October 25.

The clearest month of the year in Scotts Valley is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 25 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 27.

The cloudiest month of the year in Scotts Valley is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Scotts Valley varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.1 months, from November 4 to April 9, with a greater than 15% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Scotts Valley is February, with an average of 8.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.9 months, from April 9 to November 4. The month with the fewest wet days in Scotts Valley is July, with an average of 0.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Scotts Valley is February, with an average of 8.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 30% on February 20.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Scotts Valley experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from October 3 to May 11, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Scotts Valley is February, with an average rainfall of 3.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from May 11 to October 3. The month with the least rain in Scotts Valley is August, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Scotts Valley varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 37 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 43 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:47 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 46 minutes later at 7:33 AM on November 2. The earliest sunset is at 4:50 PM on December 5, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 41 minutes later at 8:31 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Scotts Valley during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Scotts Valley, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Scotts Valley experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from February 1 to July 5, with average wind speeds of more than 7.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Scotts Valley is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.9 months, from July 5 to February 1. The calmest month of the year in Scotts Valley is September, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.1 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Scotts Valley varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 8.0 months, from February 27 to October 27, with a peak percentage of 89% on August 1. The wind is most often from the north for 4.0 months, from October 27 to February 27, with a peak percentage of 37% on January 1.

Scotts Valley is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.8 months, from July 30 to October 23, with an average temperature above 57°F. The month of the year in Scotts Valley with the warmest water is September, with an average temperature of 58°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.0 months, from March 9 to June 10, with an average temperature below 54°F. The month of the year in Scotts Valley with the coolest water is April, with an average temperature of 54°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Scotts Valley throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Scotts Valley for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Scotts Valley for hot-weather activities is from early September to early October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Scotts Valley are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from May 6 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Scotts Valley is June, with an average of 8.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from November 3 to February 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Scotts Valley is December, with an average of 2.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Scotts Valley are 37.051 deg latitude, -122.015 deg longitude, and 561 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Scotts Valley contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 860 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 630 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,465 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (4,403 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Scotts Valley is covered by trees (60%) and artificial surfaces (38%), within 10 miles by trees (60%) and water (15%), and within 50 miles by water (42%) and grassland (19%).