Climate averages 1991–2020
Mackay weather
in December.
A hot, wet month: the 3rd warmest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a hot month in Mackay: daytime highs average 28.0°C and nights cool to about 24.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 117 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes December a wet month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 23 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Rockhampton (283 km away). In December its highs average 30.9°C, 2.9°C warmer than Mackay, with 85 mm of rain.
Among the 32 cities listed in Australia, Mackay ranks joint 8th of 32 for the warmest December highs and joint 26th of 32 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 32 cities is 26.0°C; Mackay is 2.0°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.2°C to 28.2°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 117 mm to 212 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
Mackay climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.2°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 212 | 15.9 | 13.313 h |
| February | 28.1°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 225 | 17.4 | 12.813 h |
| March | 27.3°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 171 | 15.2 | 12.212 h |
| April | 25.7°C22.0°C | 22.0°C | 89 | 13.0 | 11.612 h |
| May | 23.7°C19.4°C | 19.4°C | 54 | 10.6 | 11.111 h |
| June | 21.7°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 43 | 7.8 | 10.911 h |
| July | 21.1°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 32 | 4.3 | 11.011 h |
| August | 21.8°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 25 | 4.3 | 11.411 h |
| September | 23.8°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 16 | 3.5 | 12.012 h |
| October | 25.5°C21.1°C | 21.1°C | 34 | 5.9 | 12.613 h |
| November | 26.8°C22.8°C | 22.8°C | 64 | 8.3 | 13.113 h |
| December, selected | 28.0°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 117 | 11.6 | 13.413 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
- Rockhampton in DecemberAustralia · 283 kmHigh 30.9°C · Low 22.0°C · 85 mm rain
- Townsville in DecemberAustralia · 324 kmHigh 30.9°C · Low 24.3°C · 88 mm rain
- Bundaberg in DecemberAustralia · 526 kmHigh 29.0°C · Low 21.6°C · 97 mm rain
- Cairns in DecemberAustralia · 591 kmHigh 29.7°C · Low 24.4°C · 142 mm rain
- Sunshine Coast in DecemberAustralia · 730 kmHigh 27.0°C · Low 21.0°C · 117 mm rain
- Caloundra in DecemberAustralia · 746 kmHigh 26.9°C · Low 21.0°C · 117 mm rain
- Toowoomba in DecemberAustralia · 766 kmHigh 27.3°C · Low 16.2°C · 103 mm rain
- Sydney in DecemberAustralia · 1428 kmHigh 24.2°C · Low 17.8°C · 60 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 Mackay) is explained once on the Mackay year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.