Climate averages 1991–2020
Mbombela weather
in December.
A warm, wet month: the 3rd warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Mbombela: daytime highs average 27.7°C and nights cool to about 18.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 151 mm of rain on roughly 18 days, which makes December a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 41 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Mbabane (95 km away). In December its highs average 24.5°C, 3.2°C cooler than Mbombela, with 208 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Mbombela ranks joint 32nd of 95 for the warmest December highs and joint 86th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Mbombela is 1.1°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.1°C to 27.8°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 151 mm to 155 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
Mbombela climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.8°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 155 | 17.5 | 13.514 h |
| February | 27.9°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 135 | 15.0 | 13.013 h |
| March | 27.1°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 107 | 14.0 | 12.312 h |
| April | 25.2°C14.7°C | 14.7°C | 53 | 8.4 | 11.512 h |
| May | 23.8°C10.6°C | 10.6°C | 19 | 3.5 | 10.911 h |
| June | 21.9°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 9.0 | 2.3 | 10.611 h |
| July | 21.7°C6.9°C | 6.9°C | 12 | 2.6 | 10.711 h |
| August | 23.9°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 17 | 3.8 | 11.211 h |
| September | 26.3°C12.3°C | 12.3°C | 34 | 6.5 | 11.912 h |
| October | 26.4°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 71 | 13.3 | 12.713 h |
| November | 27.0°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 122 | 16.3 | 13.313 h |
| December, selected | 27.7°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 151 | 18.4 | 13.714 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
- Mbabane in DecemberEswatini · 95 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 15.5°C · 208 mm rain
- Ressano Garcia in DecemberMozambique · 103 kmHigh 31.0°C · Low 21.4°C · 101 mm rain
- Manzini in DecemberEswatini · 121 kmHigh 26.9°C · Low 17.7°C · 124 mm rain
- Ermelo in DecemberSouth Africa · 153 kmHigh 23.3°C · Low 13.4°C · 163 mm rain
- Middelburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 154 kmHigh 25.3°C · Low 15.1°C · 114 mm rain
- Matola in DecemberMozambique · 159 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 21.8°C · 103 mm rain
- Maputo in DecemberMozambique · 171 kmHigh 27.9°C · Low 21.9°C · 103 mm rain
- Piet Retief in DecemberSouth Africa · 171 kmHigh 24.9°C · Low 14.8°C · 155 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 Mbombela) is explained once on the Mbombela year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.