Climate averages 1991–2020
Albuquerque weather
in December.
A cool, fairly dry month: the coolest and the joint 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Albuquerque: daytime highs average 8.0°C and nights cool to about -2.5°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 18 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the joint 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 51 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Rio Rancho (17 km away). In December its highs average 7.3°C, 0.7°C cooler than Albuquerque, with 19 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Albuquerque ranks 285th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 10th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Albuquerque is 2.6°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.2°C to 8.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 18 mm to 15 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
Albuquerque climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8.2°C-2.7°C | -2.7°C | 15 | 3.8 | 10.110 h |
| February | 11.6°C-0.8°C | -0.8°C | 13 | 3.6 | 10.911 h |
| March | 16.7°C2.9°C | 2.9°C | 15 | 3.3 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.3°C6.7°C | 6.7°C | 12 | 2.4 | 13.013 h |
| May | 26.6°C12.1°C | 12.1°C | 12 | 2.6 | 14.014 h |
| June | 32.4°C17.6°C | 17.6°C | 7.9 | 1.8 | 14.514 h |
| July | 32.7°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 22 | 5.3 | 14.314 h |
| August | 31.3°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 18 | 4.4 | 13.513 h |
| September | 27.8°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 22 | 3.5 | 12.412 h |
| October | 21.2°C8.8°C | 8.8°C | 22 | 3.5 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.9°C2.2°C | 2.2°C | 15 | 3.1 | 10.410 h |
| December, selected | 8.0°C-2.5°C | -2.5°C | 18 | 3.7 | 9.810 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
- Rio Rancho in DecemberUnited States · 17 kmHigh 7.3°C · Low -3.2°C · 19 mm rain
- Enchanted Hills in DecemberUnited States · 29 kmHigh 6.9°C · Low -3.4°C · 22 mm rain
- Santa Fe, United States in DecemberUnited States · 93 kmHigh 4.7°C · Low -6.1°C · 25 mm rain
- Las Cruces in DecemberUnited States · 308 kmHigh 13.3°C · Low 1.2°C · 19 mm rain
- El Paso in DecemberUnited States · 370 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 1.7°C · 18 mm rain
- Ciudad Juárez in DecemberMexico · 375 kmHigh 13.9°C · Low 1.7°C · 18 mm rain
- Pueblo in DecemberUnited States · 397 kmHigh 6.3°C · Low -6.9°C · 12 mm rain
- Amarillo in DecemberUnited States · 438 kmHigh 10.1°C · Low -1.4°C · 27 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 Albuquerque) is explained once on the Albuquerque year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.