Citizen station GW6246GW6246
In a volunteer observer's own ground/2.3 mi away/979 ft/32 ft below here
temp, humidity, wind, precip, pressure
Weather/California/Rancho Santa Margarita
Rancho Santa Margarita, California
City in Orange County, CaliforniaHeat Advisory, in full · Every severe alert
* WHAT...For the Wind Advisory, northeast winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts 35 to 55 mph expected. Strongest winds will be near the foothills and in canyons of the Santa Ana mountains, with gusts up to 70 mph possible. For the Heat Advisory, temperatures up to 95 degrees * WHERE...Orange County Inland Areas. * WHEN...For the Heat Advisory, until 8 PM PDT Saturday. For the Wind Advisory, until noon PDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Moderate to locally major HeatRisk. Those sensitive to heat may be impacted.
Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution. Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
77°
91°/61°
Clear·
Feels like 77°·Gentle breeze 9 mph NE
Alert. A Heat Advisory is in force for Rancho Santa Margarita until 8 PM Saturday. 1 more alert is in force here as well. Read the alert in full, and see what it means in the Field Book.
Now. Rancho Santa Margarita is 77° and clear at 9 PM. The dew point is 37°, so the air feels dry and comfortable. Gentle breeze from the northeast at 9 mph, gusting to 30 mph.
Today and tonight. Tonight falls to about 70° by 6 AM, under a mostly clear sky. No rain is expected for the rest of the day.
The week. The warmest day ahead is tomorrow, near 92°, and the coolest Wednesday, near 68°. Rain is likely Tuesday (57%) and Wednesday (68%). The windiest day is tomorrow, with wind to 23 mph.
The sky now. The Moon is a waxing crescent, 26% lit, and stays below the horizon until dawn. The next full Moon is Sunday, Oct 25. Look for Saturn, bright in the southeast. A planet shines with a steady light where the stars around it twinkle. The Orionids meteor shower is active, peaking around Oct 21: at its peak, up to about 20 meteors an hour can be seen from a dark site. The sky is forecast to stay clear: a good night to look up. The day is 11 hours 23 minutes long, 2 minutes shorter than yesterday.
0UV Low
38Air quality
21%Humidity
0%Cloud
Now
9:00 PM
77feels77
now, clear
Today
Oct 15
9161
21mph
UV 7
Fri
Oct 16
9270
23mph
UV 7
Sat
Oct 17
8872
16mph
UV 6
Sun
Oct 18
8567
UV 7
Mon
Oct 19
8065
UV 7
Tue
Oct 20
7160
57%
13mph
Wed
Oct 21
6856
68%
77°
91°61°
92°70°
88°72°
85°67°
80°65°
71°60°
68°56°
As of 9:00 PM in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.
Air quality
The air at Rancho Santa Margarita
Index 38, good, led by ozone. Read at 9 PM from its reporting area, Saddleback Vly (CA), 5 miles off.
38Good
- Fine particles (PM2.5)3Good15.1 mi
- Ozone38Good45 ppb5 mi
- Coarse particles (PM10)12Good5 mi
- Nitrogen dioxide4Good4.7 ppb15.1 mi
- Carbon monoxide-0.2 ppm22.6 mi
The days ahead
Highest 65, moderate, Fri Oct 16, led by ozone. Yesterday measured 50, good.
GoodModerate
- 50YesterdayOct 14
- 46TodayOct 15
- 65FriOct 16
Smoke, the next 45 hours
Little smoke near the ground through Sat 5 PM: the index from smoke stays at 17 or under.
Precipitation
What has fallen at Rancho Santa Margarita
None in the last 3 days, to Thu 8 PM. Measured by radar and rain gauges, as water.
- Last 24 hours
- 0.00in
- Last 3 days
- 0.00in
Visibility
How far you can see at Rancho Santa Margarita, the next 45 hours
Visibility stays 10 miles or more through Sat 5 PM.
F
Now, today, and the week
On the radar over Rancho Santa Margarita, CaliforniaReflectivityStorm topsRain rateRain, last 24 hoursForecast temperatureForecast rain totalEvery picture
Weather instrument stations by state
What is measuring near here
The 7 instruments nearest Rancho Santa Margarita, how far away each one is, how high it stands, and what kind of measurement it makes. The nearest is 0.4 miles away.
measured now5 instruments
Rank3,968of 4,465
Santiago Peak 3SNPC1
At a river or reservoir gauge/5.3 mi away/4,301 ft/3,290 ft above here
temp, wind, gust, humidity, pressure
At an airfield/15.9 mi away/52 ft/959 ft below here
temp, wind, gust, visibility, precip, pressure
Fallbrook 5 NE53151
At a climate reference station/27.5 mi away/1,140 ft/129 ft above here
temp, humidity, wind, solar, precip
I-15 : Jurupa AvenueCF174
Beside a road/28.1 mi away/908 ft/103 ft below here
temp, pavement temp, wind, visibility, precip
measured daily2 instruments
Rancho Santa Margarita 0.8 NECA-OR-2
In a volunteer observer's own ground/0.4 mi away/1,059 ft/48 ft above here
precip, snowfall, snow depth
Irvine RanchIVRC1
On a farm or research station/9.1 mi away/535 ft/476 ft below here
snowfall, snow depth, precip, high, low
Station report
The weather at Santa Ana/Jon-Wayne, drawn
The nearest airport reporting now, 15.9 mi from Rancho Santa Margarita, California. From its report of Oct 15, 2026, 8:53 PM local time: 3 of its 6 sheets.
The sky
No cloud below 12,000 ft; visibility 10 mi or more.
The air
86.0 F with a dew point of 36.0 F, 17 per cent relative humidity. Air lifted from the station would cool to its dew point, where cloud forms, about 11,300 ft up.
The wind
From the northeast (40 degrees) at 10 mph, gusting 21 mph: force 3, a gentle breeze on the Beaufort scale. The strongest gust today was 45 mph.
What the snow tracker reads here
Every instrument in this state
-
Snow on the ground
Elsewhere in California
33 places, each with its own forecast and its own instruments.
Big Bear Mountainski areaBishopcityBridgeporttownChina Peakski areaDodge Ridgeski areaDonner PassfeatureFresnocityHeavenlysurveyed ski areaHomewoodski areaJune Mountainski areaKirkwoodsurveyed ski areaLos AngelescityMammoth LakestownMammoth Mountainsurveyed ski areaMount ShastafeatureMount Shasta CitycityMount Shasta Ski Parkski areaMount WhitneyfeatureMountain Highski areaNorthstarsurveyed ski areaPalisades Tahoesurveyed ski areaReddingcitySacramentocitySan DiegocitySan FranciscocitySierra NevadafeatureSierra-at-Tahoeski areaSnow Valleyski areaSouth Lake TahoecitySugar Bowlski areaSusanvillecityTruckeetownYosemitefeature
Near Rancho Santa Margarita
The nearest places, each with its own forecast and the instruments nearest it.
- Trabuco Canyoncommunity, 2 mi
- Coto de Cazacommunity, 4 mi
- Mission Viejocity, 4 mi
- Las Florescommunity, 4 mi
- Modjeskacommunity, 5 mi
- Lake Forestcity, 5 mi
- Williams Canyoncommunity, 7 mi
- Ladera Ranchcommunity, 7 mi
- Laguna Hillscity, 7 mi
- Silveradocommunity, 7 mi
- Rancho Mission Viejocommunity, 7 mi
- Laguna Woodscity, 8 mi