Climate averages 1991–2020
Fargo weather
in December.
A freezing month with light precipitation: the 11th 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 Fargo: daytime highs average -4.7°C and nights cool to about -12.7°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 24 mm of precipitation on roughly 6 days, which makes December a month with light 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 Bismarck (304 km away). In December its highs average -3.4°C, 1.3°C warmer than Fargo, with 18 mm of precipitation.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Fargo ranks 497th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 31st of 498 for the driest December (precipitation, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Fargo is 15.2°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 3.2°C to -7.9°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 24 mm to 19 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
Fargo climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -7.9°C-17.3°C | -17.3°C | 19 | 4.7 | 9.09 h |
| February | -4.6°C-14.5°C | -14.5°C | 18 | 4.6 | 10.310 h |
| March | 3.1°C-7.2°C | -7.2°C | 35 | 6.2 | 11.912 h |
| April | 11.5°C0.4°C | 0.4°C | 52 | 7.7 | 13.614 h |
| May | 18.8°C8.0°C | 8.0°C | 88 | 11.2 | 15.015 h |
| June | 24.1°C14.3°C | 14.3°C | 109 | 11.8 | 15.816 h |
| July | 26.7°C16.9°C | 16.9°C | 95 | 10.5 | 15.515 h |
| August | 25.9°C16.1°C | 16.1°C | 82 | 8.8 | 14.214 h |
| September | 20.9°C11.4°C | 11.4°C | 72 | 8.1 | 12.613 h |
| October | 12.2°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 60 | 7.7 | 10.911 h |
| November | 2.9°C-4.5°C | -4.5°C | 27 | 5.3 | 9.49 h |
| December, selected | -4.7°C-12.7°C | -12.7°C | 24 | 5.7 | 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
- Bismarck in DecemberUnited States · 304 kmHigh -3.4°C · Low -11.4°C · 18 mm precipitation
- Plymouth, United States in DecemberUnited States · 331 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.6°C · 34 mm precipitation
- Brooklyn Park in DecemberUnited States · 331 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.8°C · 35 mm precipitation
- Winnipeg in DecemberCanada · 335 kmHigh -8.7°C · Low -16.4°C · 22 mm precipitation
- Minneapolis in DecemberUnited States · 345 kmHigh -2.5°C · Low -9.7°C · 35 mm precipitation
- Bloomington (Minnesota), United States in DecemberUnited States · 353 kmHigh -2.2°C · Low -9.4°C · 36 mm precipitation
- Duluth in DecemberUnited States · 356 kmHigh -3.2°C · Low -8.8°C · 45 mm precipitation
- Saint Paul in DecemberUnited States · 358 kmHigh -2.2°C · Low -9.6°C · 35 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 Fargo) is explained once on the Fargo year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.