Climate averages 1991–2020
Memphis weather
in December.
A cool, wet month: the 11th warmest and the 11th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Memphis: daytime highs average 10.9°C and nights cool to about 2.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 126 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes December a wet month (the 11th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 50 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Jonesboro (97 km away). In December its highs average 9.8°C, 1.1°C cooler than Memphis, with 112 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Memphis ranks joint 252nd of 498 for the warmest December highs and 464th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Memphis is 0.3°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.5°C to 9.3°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 126 mm to 98 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
Memphis climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9.3°C0.6°C | 0.6°C | 98 | 9.6 | 10.110 h |
| February | 11.8°C2.3°C | 2.3°C | 104 | 9.2 | 10.911 h |
| March | 16.5°C6.3°C | 6.3°C | 127 | 11.4 | 11.912 h |
| April | 21.6°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 122 | 10.0 | 13.113 h |
| May | 26.3°C16.4°C | 16.4°C | 117 | 11.0 | 14.014 h |
| June | 30.5°C20.9°C | 20.9°C | 87 | 9.7 | 14.514 h |
| July | 32.0°C23.1°C | 23.1°C | 93 | 10.4 | 14.314 h |
| August | 31.9°C22.6°C | 22.6°C | 75 | 8.5 | 13.513 h |
| September | 28.7°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 74 | 7.4 | 12.412 h |
| October | 22.7°C12.7°C | 12.7°C | 102 | 7.4 | 11.311 h |
| November | 15.7°C6.5°C | 6.5°C | 101 | 8.5 | 10.410 h |
| December, selected | 10.9°C2.4°C | 2.4°C | 126 | 9.7 | 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
- Jonesboro in DecemberUnited States · 97 kmHigh 9.8°C · Low 1.8°C · 112 mm rain
- Little Rock in DecemberUnited States · 209 kmHigh 11.3°C · Low 2.9°C · 116 mm rain
- Clarksville in DecemberUnited States · 287 kmHigh 9.3°C · Low 1.5°C · 115 mm rain
- Franklin in DecemberUnited States · 300 kmHigh 9.9°C · Low 2.0°C · 127 mm rain
- Tuscaloosa in DecemberUnited States · 314 kmHigh 13.6°C · Low 4.5°C · 129 mm rain
- Nashville in DecemberUnited States · 316 kmHigh 9.5°C · Low 1.4°C · 124 mm rain
- Jackson in DecemberUnited States · 317 kmHigh 14.4°C · Low 4.8°C · 119 mm rain
- Huntsville in DecemberUnited States · 319 kmHigh 11.1°C · Low 2.8°C · 139 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 Memphis) is explained once on the Memphis year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.