Climate averages 1991–2020
Chico weather
in December.
A cool, very wet month: the coolest and the wettest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Chico: daytime highs average 13.2°C and nights cool to about 3.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 202 mm of rain on roughly 12 days, which makes December a very wet month (the wettest month of the year). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 25 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Redding (106 km away). In December its highs average 11.9°C, 1.3°C cooler than Chico, with 253 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Chico ranks joint 207th of 498 for the warmest December highs and 491st of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Chico is 2.7°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.5°C to 13.7°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 202 mm to 184 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
Chico climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13.7°C3.9°C | 3.9°C | 184 | 11.1 | 9.710 h |
| February | 15.1°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 178 | 10.4 | 10.711 h |
| March | 17.6°C6.2°C | 6.2°C | 149 | 10.8 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.1°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 73 | 7.4 | 13.213 h |
| May | 26.7°C12.8°C | 12.8°C | 47 | 5.1 | 14.314 h |
| June | 32.3°C17.0°C | 17.0°C | 14 | 1.7 | 14.915 h |
| July | 36.1°C19.9°C | 19.9°C | 0.5 | 0.1 | 14.715 h |
| August | 34.9°C19.0°C | 19.0°C | 1.6 | 0.3 | 13.714 h |
| September | 31.9°C16.3°C | 16.3°C | 7.5 | 1.2 | 12.512 h |
| October | 25.4°C11.9°C | 11.9°C | 52 | 3.8 | 11.211 h |
| November | 17.6°C6.8°C | 6.8°C | 105 | 8.0 | 10.010 h |
| December, selected | 13.2°C3.9°C | 3.9°C | 202 | 11.5 | 9.49 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
- Redding in DecemberUnited States · 106 kmHigh 11.9°C · Low 3.5°C · 253 mm rain
- Roseville in DecemberUnited States · 118 kmHigh 13.0°C · Low 3.7°C · 143 mm rain
- Citrus Heights in DecemberUnited States · 123 kmHigh 13.0°C · Low 3.9°C · 143 mm rain
- Folsom in DecemberUnited States · 130 kmHigh 13.1°C · Low 3.8°C · 143 mm rain
- Sacramento in DecemberUnited States · 131 kmHigh 13.3°C · Low 4.5°C · 113 mm rain
- Arden-Arcade in DecemberUnited States · 131 kmHigh 13.1°C · Low 4.4°C · 113 mm rain
- Rancho Cordova in DecemberUnited States · 135 kmHigh 13.1°C · Low 4.2°C · 121 mm rain
- Elk Grove in DecemberUnited States · 152 kmHigh 13.1°C · Low 4.5°C · 121 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 Chico) is explained once on the Chico year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.