Climate averages 1991–2020
Potchefstroom weather
in December.
A hot, wet month: the warmest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a hot month in Potchefstroom: daytime highs average 28.3°C and nights cool to about 16.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the warmest month of the year.
Expect about 112 mm of rain on roughly 16 days, which makes December a wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 13 h 47 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Stilfontein (36 km away). In December its highs average 28.7°C, about as warm as Potchefstroom, with 102 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Potchefstroom ranks 26th of 95 for the warmest December highs and 48th of 95 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 95 cities is 26.6°C; Potchefstroom is 1.7°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.1°C to 28.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 112 mm to 109 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
Potchefstroom climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.2°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 109 | 15.0 | 13.614 h |
| February | 27.7°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 93 | 12.3 | 13.013 h |
| March | 26.3°C15.0°C | 15.0°C | 76 | 10.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 23.8°C11.6°C | 11.6°C | 39 | 6.8 | 11.511 h |
| May | 21.4°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 19 | 2.9 | 10.811 h |
| June | 18.7°C4.0°C | 4.0°C | 8.7 | 1.5 | 10.510 h |
| July | 18.9°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 3.9 | 0.7 | 10.611 h |
| August | 22.2°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 11 | 1.8 | 11.211 h |
| September | 26.5°C10.9°C | 10.9°C | 16 | 3.1 | 11.912 h |
| October | 28.0°C13.7°C | 13.7°C | 65 | 9.7 | 12.713 h |
| November | 28.1°C15.2°C | 15.2°C | 81 | 12.2 | 13.413 h |
| December, selected | 28.3°C16.8°C | 16.8°C | 112 | 16.0 | 13.814 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
- Stilfontein in DecemberSouth Africa · 36 kmHigh 28.7°C · Low 16.5°C · 102 mm rain
- Parys in DecemberSouth Africa · 41 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 16.1°C · 129 mm rain
- Klerksdorp in DecemberSouth Africa · 46 kmHigh 29.0°C · Low 16.7°C · 102 mm rain
- Carletonville in DecemberSouth Africa · 49 kmHigh 26.2°C · Low 15.5°C · 136 mm rain
- Orkney in DecemberSouth Africa · 52 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 16.6°C · 98 mm rain
- Westonaria in DecemberSouth Africa · 70 kmHigh 25.5°C · Low 15.1°C · 141 mm rain
- Sasolburg in DecemberSouth Africa · 72 kmHigh 26.6°C · Low 15.5°C · 137 mm rain
- Vanderbijlpark in DecemberSouth Africa · 73 kmHigh 26.4°C · Low 15.4°C · 137 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 Potchefstroom) is explained once on the Potchefstroom year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.