Climate averages 1991–2020
Funchal weather
in December.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 9th warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Funchal: daytime highs average 17.7°C and nights cool to about 15.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 9th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 83 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 03 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Santa Cruz de Tenerife (471 km away). In December its highs average 20.1°C, 2.4°C warmer than Funchal, with 32 mm of rain.
Among the 12 cities listed in Portugal, Funchal ranks 1st of 12 for the warmest December highs and 5th of 12 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 12 cities is 14.4°C; Funchal is 3.3°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.0°C to 16.8°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 83 mm to 51 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
Funchal climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.8°C13.9°C | 13.9°C | 51 | 8.4 | 10.310 h |
| February | 16.6°C13.4°C | 13.4°C | 53 | 7.9 | 11.011 h |
| March | 17.4°C13.8°C | 13.8°C | 56 | 10.2 | 12.012 h |
| April | 18.2°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 47 | 8.6 | 13.013 h |
| May | 19.9°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 28 | 7.4 | 13.814 h |
| June | 22.5°C18.1°C | 18.1°C | 13 | 3.5 | 14.314 h |
| July | 24.6°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 3.9 | 1.4 | 14.114 h |
| August | 25.6°C20.9°C | 20.9°C | 6.6 | 2.5 | 13.413 h |
| September | 24.3°C20.3°C | 20.3°C | 25 | 7.7 | 12.412 h |
| October | 22.1°C18.7°C | 18.7°C | 69 | 11.6 | 11.411 h |
| November | 19.4°C16.5°C | 16.5°C | 64 | 11.0 | 10.511 h |
| December, selected | 17.7°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 83 | 10.4 | 10.010 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
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife in DecemberSpain · 471 kmHigh 20.1°C · Low 17.9°C · 32 mm rain
- Arona in DecemberSpain · 508 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 13.4°C · 40 mm rain
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in DecemberSpain · 528 kmHigh 19.4°C · Low 15.5°C · 30 mm rain
- Telde in DecemberSpain · 539 kmHigh 19.3°C · Low 15.5°C · 30 mm rain
- Santa Lucía in DecemberSpain · 545 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 13.4°C · 30 mm rain
- Essaouira in DecemberMorocco · 686 kmHigh 19.7°C · Low 11.8°C · 50 mm rain
- Laayoune in DecemberWestern Sahara · 712 kmHigh 22.5°C · Low 12.7°C · 8.3 mm rain
- Safi in DecemberMorocco · 722 kmHigh 19.4°C · Low 11.1°C · 41 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 Funchal) is explained once on the Funchal year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.