Climate averages 1991–2020
Leiden weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Leiden: daytime highs average 6.7°C and nights cool to about 3.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 84 mm of rain on roughly 15 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 49 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Zoetermeer (11 km away). In December its highs average 6.6°C, about as warm as Leiden, with 71 mm of rain.
Among the 44 cities listed in the Netherlands, Leiden ranks joint 3rd of 44 for the warmest December highs and 43rd of 44 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 44 cities is 6.2°C; Leiden is 0.5°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.7°C to 6.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 84 mm to 72 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
Leiden climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.0°C2.3°C | 2.3°C | 72 | 13.6 | 8.38 h |
| February | 6.4°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 57 | 11.6 | 9.910 h |
| March | 9.0°C3.7°C | 3.7°C | 54 | 11.3 | 11.812 h |
| April | 12.5°C6.0°C | 6.0°C | 45 | 10.1 | 13.914 h |
| May | 15.8°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 58 | 10.4 | 15.716 h |
| June | 18.4°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 61 | 11.0 | 16.717 h |
| July | 20.6°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 77 | 12.4 | 16.216 h |
| August | 20.8°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 90 | 13.3 | 14.715 h |
| September | 18.0°C12.9°C | 12.9°C | 87 | 13.0 | 12.713 h |
| October | 14.1°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 93 | 14.0 | 10.711 h |
| November | 9.8°C6.1°C | 6.1°C | 83 | 15.3 | 8.99 h |
| December, selected | 6.7°C3.3°C | 3.3°C | 84 | 14.6 | 7.88 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
- Zoetermeer in DecemberThe Netherlands · 11 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 2.9°C · 71 mm rain
- Alphen aan den Rijn in DecemberThe Netherlands · 12 kmHigh 6.4°C · Low 2.5°C · 79 mm rain
- The Hague in DecemberThe Netherlands · 16 kmHigh 6.8°C · Low 3.5°C · 75 mm rain
- Delft in DecemberThe Netherlands · 19 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 2.9°C · 75 mm rain
- Hoofddorp in DecemberThe Netherlands · 21 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 3.2°C · 79 mm rain
- Gouda in DecemberThe Netherlands · 22 kmHigh 6.4°C · Low 2.3°C · 70 mm rain
- Rotterdam in DecemberThe Netherlands · 26 kmHigh 6.4°C · Low 2.4°C · 71 mm rain
- Haarlem in DecemberThe Netherlands · 27 kmHigh 6.6°C · Low 3.5°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 Leiden) is explained once on the Leiden year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.