Climate averages 1991–2020
Adelaide weather
in December.
A warm, fairly dry month: the 3rd warmest and the 4th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Adelaide: daytime highs average 25.3°C and nights cool to about 15.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 25 mm of rain on roughly 5 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 27 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Adelaide Hills (10 km away). In December its highs average 23.9°C, 1.4°C cooler than Adelaide, with 28 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Adelaide ranks 19th of 32 for the warmest December highs and 4th of 32 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 32 cities is 26.0°C; Adelaide is 0.6°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 2.3°C to 27.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 25 mm to 19 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Adelaide climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.7°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 19 | 3.3 | 14.214 h |
| February | 27.5°C16.8°C | 16.8°C | 19 | 2.7 | 13.413 h |
| March | 24.8°C15.2°C | 15.2°C | 19 | 3.5 | 12.312 h |
| April | 21.2°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 36 | 5.6 | 11.211 h |
| May | 17.4°C11.0°C | 11.0°C | 52 | 8.3 | 10.310 h |
| June | 14.5°C9.0°C | 9.0°C | 61 | 9.6 | 9.810 h |
| July | 13.7°C8.2°C | 8.2°C | 64 | 10.4 | 10.010 h |
| August | 14.6°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 58 | 10.8 | 10.811 h |
| September | 17.0°C9.7°C | 9.7°C | 53 | 9.8 | 11.812 h |
| October | 20.1°C11.2°C | 11.2°C | 35 | 6.4 | 12.913 h |
| November | 23.1°C13.3°C | 13.3°C | 30 | 5.3 | 13.914 h |
| December, selected | 25.3°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 25 | 4.8 | 14.414 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
December in nearby cities
- Adelaide Hills in DecemberAustralia · 10 kmHigh 23.9°C · Low 12.6°C · 28 mm rain
- Bendigo in DecemberAustralia · 551 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 13.1°C · 43 mm rain
- Ballarat in DecemberAustralia · 555 kmHigh 22.1°C · Low 10.3°C · 52 mm rain
- Geelong in DecemberAustralia · 627 kmHigh 21.9°C · Low 12.9°C · 42 mm rain
- Melbourne in DecemberAustralia · 654 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 12.9°C · 60 mm rain
- Canberra in DecemberAustralia · 958 kmHigh 24.3°C · Low 12.1°C · 55 mm rain
- Sydney in DecemberAustralia · 1162 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 17.8°C · 60 mm rain
- Newcastle, Australia in DecemberAustralia · 1235 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 18.6°C · 70 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Adelaide) is explained once on the Adelaide year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.