Climate averages 1991–2020
Ladysmith weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the 2nd warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Ladysmith: daytime highs average 27.9°C and nights cool to about 15.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 2nd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 179 mm of rain on roughly 20 days, which makes December a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 55 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Dundee, South Africa (62 km away). In December its highs average 26.3°C, 1.6°C cooler than Ladysmith, with 154 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Ladysmith ranks 30th of 95 for the warmest December highs and 95th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Ladysmith is 1.3°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.1°C to 28.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 179 mm to 172 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
Ladysmith climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.0°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 172 | 18.9 | 13.714 h |
| February | 27.8°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 143 | 14.7 | 13.113 h |
| March | 26.5°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 117 | 13.4 | 12.312 h |
| April | 24.0°C11.8°C | 11.8°C | 58 | 7.9 | 11.411 h |
| May | 21.8°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 21 | 3.5 | 10.711 h |
| June | 19.4°C4.3°C | 4.3°C | 14 | 2.8 | 10.410 h |
| July | 19.4°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 16 | 2.3 | 10.511 h |
| August | 22.2°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 28 | 4.4 | 11.111 h |
| September | 25.7°C10.0°C | 10.0°C | 39 | 6.9 | 11.912 h |
| October | 26.3°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 100 | 13.7 | 12.813 h |
| November | 27.1°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 137 | 16.7 | 13.514 h |
| December, selected | 27.9°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 179 | 19.5 | 13.914 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
- Dundee, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 62 kmHigh 26.3°C · Low 15.1°C · 154 mm rain
- Newcastle, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 90 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 15.0°C · 155 mm rain
- Phuthaditjhaba in DecemberSouth Africa · 94 kmHigh 23.9°C · Low 12.8°C · 168 mm rain
- Pietermaritzburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 25.8°C · Low 16.2°C · 129 mm rain
- Vryheid in DecemberSouth Africa · 132 kmHigh 25.5°C · Low 15.0°C · 158 mm rain
- Bethlehem, South Africa in DecemberSouth Africa · 149 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 13.5°C · 147 mm rain
- Mpumalanga in DecemberSouth Africa · 162 kmHigh 24.7°C · Low 16.0°C · 102 mm rain
- KwaDukuza in DecemberSouth Africa · 170 kmHigh 26.7°C · Low 20.0°C · 99 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 Ladysmith) is explained once on the Ladysmith year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.