Climate averages 1991–2020
Duluth weather
in December.
A freezing month with moderate precipitation: the 10th warmest and the 3rd driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a freezing month in Duluth: daytime highs average -3.2°C and nights cool to about -8.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 45 mm of precipitation on roughly 8 days, which makes December a month with moderate precipitation (the 3rd driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 8 h 37 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Brooklyn Park (211 km away). In December its highs average -2.5°C, 0.6°C warmer than Duluth, with 35 mm of precipitation.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Duluth ranks 495th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 99th of 498 for the driest December (precipitation, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Duluth is 13.7°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 4.0°C to -7.2°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 45 mm to 26 mm.
The annual picture
December in context
Monthly precipitation
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
Duluth climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -7.2°C-13.9°C | -13.9°C | 26 | 6.3 | 9.09 h |
| February | -5.2°C-12.0°C | -12.0°C | 28 | 5.4 | 10.310 h |
| March | 0.5°C-6.1°C | -6.1°C | 49 | 7.3 | 11.912 h |
| April | 6.5°C-0.2°C | -0.2°C | 84 | 10.2 | 13.614 h |
| May | 13.4°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 97 | 11.1 | 15.015 h |
| June | 19.6°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 105 | 11.6 | 15.816 h |
| July | 23.9°C17.8°C | 17.8°C | 98 | 11.7 | 15.515 h |
| August | 23.6°C17.8°C | 17.8°C | 102 | 10.5 | 14.214 h |
| September | 19.5°C13.8°C | 13.8°C | 92 | 10.6 | 12.613 h |
| October | 11.6°C6.6°C | 6.6°C | 103 | 10.8 | 10.911 h |
| November | 3.6°C-1.1°C | -1.1°C | 66 | 8.9 | 9.49 h |
| December, selected | -3.2°C-8.8°C | -8.8°C | 45 | 7.5 | 8.69 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet 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
- Brooklyn Park in DecemberUnited States · 211 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.8°C · 35 mm precipitation
- Saint Paul in DecemberUnited States · 218 kmHigh -2.2°C · Low -9.6°C · 35 mm precipitation
- Minneapolis in DecemberUnited States · 220 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.7°C · 35 mm precipitation
- Plymouth, United States in DecemberUnited States · 223 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.6°C · 34 mm precipitation
- Bloomington (Minnesota), United States in DecemberUnited States · 235 kmHigh -2.2°C · Low -9.4°C · 36 mm precipitation
- Thunder Bay in DecemberCanada · 278 kmHigh -4.8°C · Low -11.3°C · 38 mm precipitation
- Rochester (Minnesota), United States in DecemberUnited States · 308 kmHigh -1.9°C · Low -9.2°C · 37 mm precipitation
- Fargo in DecemberUnited States · 356 kmHigh -4.7°C · Low -12.7°C · 24 mm precipitation
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 Duluth) is explained once on the Duluth year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.