Climate averages 1991–2020
Leeuwarden weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Leeuwarden: daytime highs average 6.1°C and nights cool to about 2.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 71 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 38 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Groningen (50 km away). In December its highs average 5.6°C, 0.5°C cooler than Leeuwarden, with 63 mm of rain.
Among the 44 cities listed in the Netherlands, Leeuwarden ranks joint 27th of 44 for the warmest December highs and joint 11th of 44 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 44 cities is 6.2°C; Leeuwarden is 0.1°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.9°C to 5.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 71 mm to 65 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
Leeuwarden climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5.2°C1.8°C | 1.8°C | 65 | 12.9 | 8.18 h |
| February | 5.7°C1.6°C | 1.6°C | 50 | 10.5 | 9.810 h |
| March | 8.3°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 48 | 10.8 | 11.812 h |
| April | 11.9°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 41 | 9.2 | 13.914 h |
| May | 15.3°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 57 | 10.8 | 15.816 h |
| June | 17.9°C12.2°C | 12.2°C | 65 | 11.7 | 16.917 h |
| July | 20.2°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 78 | 13.2 | 16.416 h |
| August | 20.4°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 84 | 13.9 | 14.815 h |
| September | 17.5°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 75 | 12.8 | 12.713 h |
| October | 13.4°C9.1°C | 9.1°C | 75 | 13.8 | 10.611 h |
| November | 9.0°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 66 | 13.8 | 8.79 h |
| December, selected | 6.1°C2.7°C | 2.7°C | 71 | 13.4 | 7.68 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
- Groningen in DecemberThe Netherlands · 50 kmHigh 5.6°C · Low 1.7°C · 63 mm rain
- Zwolle in DecemberThe Netherlands · 79 kmHigh 5.7°C · Low 1.6°C · 69 mm rain
- Lelystad in DecemberThe Netherlands · 80 kmHigh 6.1°C · Low 2.5°C · 78 mm rain
- Alkmaar in DecemberThe Netherlands · 95 kmHigh 6.9°C · Low 4.0°C · 79 mm rain
- Purmerend in DecemberThe Netherlands · 96 kmHigh 6.4°C · Low 2.8°C · 68 mm rain
- Almere Stad in DecemberThe Netherlands · 101 kmHigh 6.2°C · Low 2.3°C · 70 mm rain
- Zaanstad in DecemberThe Netherlands · 107 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 3.4°C · 79 mm rain
- Zaandam in DecemberThe Netherlands · 108 kmHigh 6.5°C · Low 3.1°C · 79 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 Leeuwarden) is explained once on the Leeuwarden year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.