Climate averages 1991–2020
Derry weather
in December.
A cold, wet month: the 11th warmest and the joint 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Derry: daytime highs average 7.4°C and nights cool to about 3.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 90 mm of rain on roughly 16 days, which makes December a wet month (the joint 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 7 h 18 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lisburn (97 km away). In December its highs average 7.5°C, about as warm as Derry, with 82 mm of rain.
Among the 143 cities listed in the United Kingdom, Derry ranks joint 51st of 143 for the warmest December highs and 115th of 143 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 143 cities is 7.2°C; Derry is 0.2°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 0.3°C to 7.1°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 90 mm to 87 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
Derry climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.1°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 87 | 16.4 | 7.88 h |
| February | 7.5°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 76 | 15.1 | 9.610 h |
| March | 9.0°C3.7°C | 3.7°C | 75 | 15.6 | 11.812 h |
| April | 11.1°C5.1°C | 5.1°C | 74 | 15.4 | 14.114 h |
| May | 13.8°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 78 | 15.1 | 16.116 h |
| June | 15.9°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 87 | 15.5 | 17.317 h |
| July | 17.3°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 93 | 16.8 | 16.817 h |
| August | 17.1°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 94 | 16.7 | 15.015 h |
| September | 15.4°C10.4°C | 10.4°C | 75 | 14.2 | 12.813 h |
| October | 12.3°C8.0°C | 8.0°C | 88 | 15.5 | 10.511 h |
| November | 9.3°C5.4°C | 5.4°C | 90 | 16.6 | 8.58 h |
| December, selected | 7.4°C3.4°C | 3.4°C | 90 | 15.8 | 7.37 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
- Lisburn in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 97 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 3.6°C · 82 mm rain
- Belfast in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 99 kmHigh 7.9°C · Low 4.4°C · 82 mm rain
- Dublin in DecemberIreland · 198 kmHigh 8.1°C · Low 4.0°C · 76 mm rain
- Tallaght in DecemberIreland · 200 kmHigh 7.6°C · Low 3.4°C · 76 mm rain
- Paisley in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 204 kmHigh 6.2°C · Low 1.8°C · 124 mm rain
- Douglas in DecemberIsle of Man · 205 kmHigh 8.9°C · Low 6.6°C · 114 mm rain
- Glasgow in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 215 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low 1.4°C · 115 mm rain
- East Kilbride in DecemberUnited Kingdom · 215 kmHigh 5.3°C · Low 0.7°C · 115 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 Derry) is explained once on the Derry year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.