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Rule Painted Sky

Painted Sky Forecast for Santa Cruz, California Coast

Capitola, California, United States

Santa Cruz combines sandstone cliffs, natural bridges, kelp-lined coves, and the boardwalk pier, providing both geological and built coastal subjects.

2 matching opportunities in the 14-day forecast.

Hourly forecast scores

Forecast valid from Oct 7, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC (one hour; not an observation)
Painted Sky Potential
4%
Low Cloud Cover0%
Mid Cloud Cover0%
High Cloud Cover0%
Sun Elevation29.4°

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Los_Angeles
golden-clouds weather icon
First upcoming window
Spectacular Painted Sky at Sunset
Santa Cruz
Mon, Oct 12 · 18:00–18:51 · 1h window
Low confidence
39%
🌤️Painted Sky Potential85.4%
Low Cloud Cover: 17%
Mid Cloud Cover: 55%
High Cloud Cover: 1%
Sun Elevation: 6.1° (Daylight)
golden-clouds weather icon
Excellent Painted Sky at Sunrise
Santa Cruz
Tue, Oct 13 · 07:00–07:48
🌤️Painted Sky Potential:82.5%
Low

71-hour requirements breakdown

When available, this detailed table covers only the stated 71-hour horizon (typically 72–168 hours, depending on available hourly data). Opportunity records above span the full 14-day forecast period, so this table does not explain that entire period. Times shown in America/Los_Angeles.

Requirements breakdown is temporarily unavailable or expired. This does not mean no opportunities.

Supporting forecast inputs

Additional hourly values for interpreting the forecast and any derived scores. See the separate requirements breakdown for rule logic; missing values are unavailable.

Forecast time (America/Los_Angeles)Golden HourHigh CloudsLow CloudsMid-Level CloudsSolar ElevationTotal Cloud CoverageVisibility
Wed, Oct 7, 2026Sunrise · Sunset
Unavailable0%0%0%29°0%58300m
Unavailable0%0%0%19°0%44300m
Unavailable0%7%0%7.6°7%18000m
NightUnavailable0%21%0%-4.3°21%14400m
NightUnavailable0%20%0%-16°20%13000m
NightUnavailable0%19%0%-28°19%12800m
NightUnavailable0%3%0%-39°3%14100m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-49°0%22100m
Thu, Oct 8, 2026Sunrise · Sunset
NightUnavailable0%4%0%-56°4%13900m
NightUnavailable0%9%0%-59°9%12200m
NightUnavailable0%12%0%-56°12%12200m
NightUnavailable0%22%0%-48°22%12200m
NightUnavailable0%20%0%-38°20%12200m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-26°100%200m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-15°100%100m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-2.6°100%100m
Unavailable0%100%0%9.2°100%100m
Unavailable0%64%0%20°64%13300m
Unavailable0%14%0%31°14%16300m
Unavailable0%4%0%39°4%18800m
Unavailable0%3%0%45°3%25600m
Unavailable0%2%0%47°2%32700m
Unavailable0%1%0%44°1%29800m
Unavailable0%1%0%38°1%30400m
Unavailable0%2%0%29°2%25800m
Unavailable0%3%0%19°3%19100m
Unavailable0%6%0%7.3°6%16300m
NightUnavailable0%10%0%-4.6°10%14800m
NightUnavailable0%9%0%-17°9%14100m
NightUnavailable0%6%0%-28°6%14100m
NightUnavailable0%4%0%-40°4%14400m
NightUnavailable0%5%0%-50°5%14300m
Fri, Oct 9, 2026Sunrise · Sunset
NightUnavailable0%24%0%-57°24%12400m
NightUnavailable0%22%0%-59°22%12400m
NightUnavailable0%31%0%-56°31%12200m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-48°100%200m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-38°100%0m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-27°100%0m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-15°100%100m
NightUnavailable0%100%0%-2.7°100%100m
Unavailable0%100%0%9°100%100m
Unavailable0%75%0%20°75%6110m
Unavailable0%50%0%30°50%12920m
Unavailable0%25%0%39°25%21255m
Unavailable0%0%0%45°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%47°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%44°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%38°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%29°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%18°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%7°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-4.9°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-17°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-29°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-40°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-50°0%24140m
Sat, Oct 10, 2026Sunrise · Sunset
NightUnavailable0%1%0%-57°1%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-60°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%1%0%-56°1%23880m
NightUnavailable0%13%0%-48°13%23700m
NightUnavailable0%18%0%-38°18%21100m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-27°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-15°0%24140m
NightUnavailable0%0%0%-2.9°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%8.8°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%20°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%30°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%39°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%44°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%46°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%44°0%24140m
Unavailable0%0%0%37°0%24140m

How this forecast is evaluated

See which weather signals PhotoWeather uses to identify Painted Sky conditions across California Coast. The requirements and hourly values above show how those signals apply at Santa Cruz.

Explore Painted Sky conditions across California Coast →

Recorded match history

Completed PhotoWeather forecast matches recorded for this exact rule at Santa Cruz during the last 365 days.

Last 30 days
0
recorded matching windows
Last 90 days
2
recorded matching windows · 77% average confidence
Last 365 days
2
recorded matching windows · 77% average confidence

Only 2 completed matches are recorded in the last 365 days—insufficient history to identify a reliable typical start time or month.

These figures use completed PhotoWeather MatchEvent records from the previous 365 days only. They describe recorded forecast matches, not observations, climatological probability, or a guarantee of future conditions.

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How this forecast is made

Opportunities are threshold-based signals: PhotoWeather checks whether forecast conditions match the rules for a photography scenario. They are planning guidance, not guarantees. Forecasts can change as new model runs arrive, and confidence generally decreases farther into the forecast horizon, so recheck conditions before travelling.

The weather forecast foundation comes through Open-Meteo , which aggregates models from weather agencies. PhotoWeather applies condition-specific thresholds and derived calculations; not every condition uses every model or data input.

How opportunities work → Weather data sources →

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