Climate averages 1991–2020
Cork weather
in December.
A cool, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Cork: daytime highs average 9.1°C and nights cool to about 5.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 84 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 52 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Limerick (86 km away). In December its highs average 8.4°C, 0.7°C cooler than Cork, with 99 mm of rain.
Among the 5 cities listed in Ireland, Cork ranks 1st of 5 for the warmest December highs and 3rd of 5 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 5 cities is 8.3°C; Cork is 0.8°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.4°C to 8.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 84 mm to 79 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
Cork climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.7°C4.7°C | 4.7°C | 79 | 13.0 | 8.38 h |
| February | 8.9°C4.4°C | 4.4°C | 65 | 11.2 | 9.910 h |
| March | 10.2°C5.0°C | 5.0°C | 62 | 11.8 | 11.812 h |
| April | 12.2°C6.3°C | 6.3°C | 68 | 12.6 | 13.914 h |
| May | 14.7°C8.8°C | 8.8°C | 67 | 13.0 | 15.616 h |
| June | 17.2°C11.4°C | 11.4°C | 64 | 10.9 | 16.617 h |
| July | 18.7°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 67 | 11.8 | 16.216 h |
| August | 18.5°C13.1°C | 13.1°C | 69 | 11.6 | 14.715 h |
| September | 16.7°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 64 | 10.0 | 12.713 h |
| October | 13.7°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 85 | 12.4 | 10.711 h |
| November | 10.8°C6.7°C | 6.7°C | 80 | 12.0 | 8.99 h |
| December, selected | 9.1°C5.3°C | 5.3°C | 84 | 12.7 | 7.98 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
- Limerick in DecemberIreland · 86 kmHigh 8.4°C · Low 3.9°C · 99 mm rain
- Galway in DecemberIreland · 158 kmHigh 8.3°C · Low 4.1°C · 104 mm rain
- Tallaght in DecemberIreland · 209 kmHigh 7.6°C · Low 3.4°C · 76 mm rain
- Dublin in DecemberIreland · 219 kmHigh 8.1°C · Low 4.0°C · 76 mm rain
- Swansea in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 313 kmHigh 8.2°C · Low 4.7°C · 145 mm rain
- Lisburn in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 334 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 3.6°C · 82 mm rain
- Belfast in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 345 kmHigh 7.9°C · Low 4.4°C · 82 mm rain
- Plymouth in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 346 kmHigh 9.3°C · Low 5.6°C · 109 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 Cork) is explained once on the Cork year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.