Climate averages 1991–2020
Lyon weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 11th warmest and the 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Lyon: daytime highs average 7.7°C and nights cool to about 1.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 74 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 8 h 45 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Villeurbanne (3 km away). In December its highs average 7.4°C, about as warm as Lyon, with 83 mm of rain.
Among the 57 cities listed in France, Lyon ranks joint 27th of 57 for the warmest December highs and joint 33rd of 57 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 57 cities is 8.5°C; Lyon is 0.8°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.5°C to 7.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 74 mm to 69 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
Lyon climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.2°C0.7°C | 0.7°C | 69 | 12.6 | 9.19 h |
| February | 8.8°C0.8°C | 0.8°C | 56 | 10.2 | 10.310 h |
| March | 12.9°C3.4°C | 3.4°C | 60 | 10.8 | 11.912 h |
| April | 16.3°C6.3°C | 6.3°C | 81 | 11.8 | 13.513 h |
| May | 20.2°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 90 | 12.5 | 14.915 h |
| June | 24.3°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 81 | 11.7 | 15.616 h |
| July | 26.7°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 78 | 10.0 | 15.315 h |
| August | 26.7°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 77 | 9.5 | 14.114 h |
| September | 22.1°C12.9°C | 12.9°C | 93 | 9.6 | 12.613 h |
| October | 17.2°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 99 | 11.6 | 11.011 h |
| November | 11.2°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 100 | 12.4 | 9.510 h |
| December, selected | 7.7°C1.7°C | 1.7°C | 74 | 12.3 | 8.89 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
- Villeurbanne in DecemberFrance · 3 kmHigh 7.4°C · Low 1.5°C · 83 mm rain
- Saint-Étienne in DecemberFrance · 50 kmHigh 7.0°C · Low 1.1°C · 64 mm rain
- Grenoble in DecemberFrance · 93 kmHigh 7.7°C · Low 0.7°C · 133 mm rain
- Geneva in DecemberSwitzerland · 112 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low -0.1°C · 131 mm rain
- Clermont-Ferrand in DecemberFrance · 137 kmHigh 7.2°C · Low 1.2°C · 62 mm rain
- Lausanne in DecemberSwitzerland · 162 kmHigh 5.8°C · Low 1.6°C · 125 mm rain
- Dijon in DecemberFrance · 174 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 1.4°C · 84 mm rain
- Besançon in DecemberFrance · 189 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 1.2°C · 124 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 Lyon) is explained once on the Lyon year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.