Seal Beach is a weird little bubble. Honestly, if you drive five miles inland toward Cypress or Long Beach, you’re in a completely different world. People think Southern California weather is just a monolithic wall of sunshine, but Seal Beach plays by its own rules. It’s the northernmost gateway to Orange County, and that position—tucked right between the mouth of the San Gabriel River and the Anaheim Bay—creates a weather pocket that can be surprisingly moody.
Right now, we're looking at a classic January stretch. Today, Thursday, January 15, 2026, the mercury is sitting at a crisp 67°F. It’s sunny, but don't let the "California" brand fool you. There's a 3 mph wind coming from the northeast that keeps the air feeling tight and fresh rather than tropical.
The Mid-January Shift: What's Actually Happening?
If you’re planning to hit the pier this weekend, you’ve gotta watch the transition. We’re peaking today with a high of 72°F, which is pretty stellar for winter. But things get a bit shifty as we head toward the weekend.
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Basically, the "January Thaw" we’re seeing right now is going to hit a speed bump. Tomorrow, Friday, January 16, the high drops slightly to 69°F and we start seeing some clouds creep in by nightfall. By Saturday, it actually warms up to 74°F, but it’ll be under a cloudy sky. It’s that humid, "sticky" kind of cloudy that most tourists don't expect from a beach town in the winter.
The humidity is hovering around 42% to 47% today, which is the sweet spot. You won’t feel like you’re melting, and your hair might actually behave. However, by next Thursday, that humidity is forecasted to spike to 73%. When the humidity jumps like that in Seal Beach, the air gets heavy. You can smell the salt from the ocean much more clearly.
The Marine Layer: Seal Beach’s Greatest Myth
Most people talk about "June Gloom," but Seal Beach gets a version of this almost year-round. It’s the marine layer. It’s not just "fog." It’s a temperature inversion where the cold Pacific water (currently about 60°F) cools the air directly above it, trapping a layer of clouds against the coast.
Kinda makes the mornings feel like a Noir film.
If you’re a local, you know the "Burn Off" is the most important part of the day. You wake up at 7:00 AM and it’s grey and 53°F. You think the day is a wash. Then, like clockwork, by 11:00 AM, the sun eats the clouds and suddenly it’s 70°F. If you leave Seal Beach because it looks "gloomy," you’re usually making a mistake. Just wait two hours.
Real Talk on the Ocean Temperature
Don't jump in the water without a suit. Seriously.
The sea temperature at Seal Beach Pier is currently 61°F. That is technically 2.9°F warmer than the historical average for mid-January, but it’s still "ice-cream headache" cold. Most surfers out there right now are rocking at least a 3/2mm wetsuit, and honestly, a 4/3mm is better if you’re planning on staying out for more than thirty minutes.
The wind is also a factor. In the winter, Seal Beach is generally calmer than the spring months. Today’s wind is a gentle 5 mph from the southwest. It’s enough to keep the flags moving on Main Street, but not enough to create the massive wind-swell that the kite-surfers over in Belmont Shore live for.
The 10-Day Outlook: A Quick Reality Check
We’re in a dry spell, which is a bit unusual for January, which is historically our wettest month.
- Sunday, Jan 18: Back to pure sun. 72°F. Perfect for the Sunday farmers market.
- Monday, Jan 19: Mostly sunny, 70°F.
- Wednesday, Jan 21: We start seeing a real dip. The high drops to 65°F and the clouds stay late.
- Friday, Jan 23: This is the "cold" snap. A high of only 62°F.
It’s a subtle range—74°F down to 62°F—but in a beach town, those twelve degrees are the difference between wearing flip-flops and digging out the Ugg boots.
Survival Tips for Seal Beach Weather
- The Layering Rule: Never trust the morning sky. Wear a hoodie over a t-shirt. By noon, that hoodie will be tied around your waist or left in the car.
- UV Awareness: Even on Saturday when it’s cloudy with a high of 74°F, the UV index is still hitting 3. You can and will get a "cloud burn." The reflection off the sand doubles down on the exposure.
- Wind Direction Matters: When the wind is "Offshore" (coming from the land/northeast), the waves are groomed and beautiful. When it’s "Onshore" (from the ocean/southwest), it gets choppy and cold. Keep an eye on that 3-6 mph shift.
Seal Beach is one of the last remaining "quiet" beach towns in SoCal. The weather reflects that. It’s rarely extreme, it’s often predictable if you know the marine layer’s habits, and it’s almost always better than the weather report makes it look.
Next time you see a 60% chance of "overcast" for Seal Beach, just remember: that’s usually just the ocean breathing. Give it until lunch, and you'll probably see the sun.
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Actionable Next Steps:
Check the wind direction before heading to the pier; a northeast wind (offshore) like we have today at 3 mph means the air will feel drier and the ocean surface will be smoother. If you're planning a beach day for the 23rd, prepare for the month's lowest temperatures (62°F) and higher humidity, which will make the coastal chill feel much sharper.