Climate averages 1991–2020
Richmond weather
in December.
A cool, moderately wet month: the 11th warmest and the 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Richmond: daytime highs average 9.7°C and nights cool to about 1.1°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 89 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 37 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Newport News (111 km away). In December its highs average 11.3°C, 1.6°C warmer than Richmond, with 88 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Richmond ranks joint 268th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 321st of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Richmond is 0.9°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.8°C to 7.9°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 89 mm to 85 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
Richmond climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.9°C-0.8°C | -0.8°C | 85 | 9.2 | 9.910 h |
| February | 9.8°C-0.2°C | -0.2°C | 75 | 8.3 | 10.811 h |
| March | 14.1°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 101 | 10.1 | 11.912 h |
| April | 19.9°C8.9°C | 8.9°C | 82 | 9.5 | 13.113 h |
| May | 24.4°C14.1°C | 14.1°C | 82 | 11.0 | 14.214 h |
| June | 28.8°C18.9°C | 18.9°C | 97 | 11.2 | 14.715 h |
| July | 31.1°C21.6°C | 21.6°C | 106 | 13.0 | 14.514 h |
| August | 29.9°C20.6°C | 20.6°C | 109 | 10.8 | 13.614 h |
| September | 26.3°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 112 | 9.3 | 12.512 h |
| October | 20.5°C11.1°C | 11.1°C | 93 | 7.6 | 11.311 h |
| November | 14.4°C5.2°C | 5.2°C | 82 | 7.8 | 10.210 h |
| December, selected | 9.7°C1.1°C | 1.1°C | 89 | 8.8 | 9.610 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
- Newport News in DecemberUnited States · 111 kmHigh 11.3°C · Low 3.3°C · 88 mm rain
- East Hampton in DecemberUnited States · 115 kmHigh 10.9°C · Low 3.7°C · 94 mm rain
- Suffolk in DecemberUnited States · 120 kmHigh 11.5°C · Low 3.3°C · 89 mm rain
- Portsmouth Heights in DecemberUnited States · 126 kmHigh 11.4°C · Low 3.1°C · 87 mm rain
- Norfolk in DecemberUnited States · 130 kmHigh 11.3°C · Low 3.3°C · 87 mm rain
- Centreville in DecemberUnited States · 143 kmHigh 7.5°C · Low 0.3°C · 87 mm rain
- Alexandria, United States in DecemberUnited States · 144 kmHigh 8.2°C · Low 0.5°C · 87 mm rain
- Lynchburg in DecemberUnited States · 149 kmHigh 9.0°C · Low 0.5°C · 96 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 Richmond) is explained once on the Richmond year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.