Climate averages 1991–2020
Motherwell weather
in December.
A warm, moderately wet month: the 4th warmest and the 9th driest of the year. Meets the pleasant-weather rule
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a warm month in Motherwell: daytime highs average 24.7°C and nights cool to about 17.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 45 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 21 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Kariega (18 km away). In December its highs average 25.4°C, 0.6°C warmer than Motherwell, with 45 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Motherwell ranks joint 79th of 95 for the warmest December highs and joint 11th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Motherwell is 1.9°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.2°C to 26.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 45 mm to 40 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
Motherwell climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26.0°C18.5°C | 18.5°C | 40 | 7.9 | 14.114 h |
| February | 26.3°C18.8°C | 18.8°C | 44 | 7.8 | 13.313 h |
| March | 25.3°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 47 | 7.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 23.6°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 40 | 7.2 | 11.311 h |
| May | 22.3°C12.6°C | 12.6°C | 23 | 4.5 | 10.410 h |
| June | 20.5°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 23 | 4.1 | 9.910 h |
| July | 20.3°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 24 | 3.9 | 10.110 h |
| August | 20.3°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 36 | 5.7 | 10.911 h |
| September | 21.0°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 31 | 5.5 | 11.912 h |
| October | 22.0°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 48 | 7.0 | 12.913 h |
| November | 23.0°C15.2°C | 15.2°C | 57 | 7.8 | 13.814 h |
| December, selected | 24.7°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 45 | 8.0 | 14.314 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
- Kariega in DecemberSouth Africa · 18 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 16.7°C · 45 mm rain
- Gqeberha in DecemberSouth Africa · 19 kmHigh 22.7°C · Low 18.2°C · 42 mm rain
- Grahamstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 103 kmHigh 25.6°C · Low 14.8°C · 62 mm rain
- Qonce in DecemberSouth Africa · 196 kmHigh 25.4°C · Low 15.8°C · 78 mm rain
- Bhisho in DecemberSouth Africa · 202 kmHigh 25.0°C · Low 15.0°C · 114 mm rain
- Mdantsane in DecemberSouth Africa · 225 kmHigh 24.4°C · Low 16.9°C · 76 mm rain
- East London in DecemberSouth Africa · 233 kmHigh 24.5°C · Low 18.9°C · 83 mm rain
- Queenstown in DecemberSouth Africa · 243 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 13.9°C · 91 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 Motherwell) is explained once on the Motherwell year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Kariega lies in the same rainfall cell, so its rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.