Climate averages 1991–2020
Roanoke weather
in December.
A cool, moderately wet month: the 11th warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cool month in Roanoke: daytime highs average 8.5°C and nights cool to about -0.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 84 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 39 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Lynchburg (72 km away). In December its highs average 9.0°C, about as warm as Roanoke, with 96 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Roanoke ranks joint 278th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 296th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Roanoke is 2.0°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 1.6°C to 6.9°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 84 mm to 83 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
Roanoke climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.9°C-2.1°C | -2.1°C | 83 | 8.6 | 9.910 h |
| February | 9.0°C-1.1°C | -1.1°C | 75 | 8.5 | 10.811 h |
| March | 13.5°C2.5°C | 2.5°C | 102 | 10.6 | 11.912 h |
| April | 19.3°C7.4°C | 7.4°C | 90 | 10.2 | 13.113 h |
| May | 23.5°C12.7°C | 12.7°C | 95 | 12.3 | 14.114 h |
| June | 27.8°C17.4°C | 17.4°C | 91 | 11.7 | 14.715 h |
| July | 30.0°C19.8°C | 19.8°C | 83 | 11.6 | 14.514 h |
| August | 29.1°C19.1°C | 19.1°C | 76 | 9.8 | 13.614 h |
| September | 25.5°C15.7°C | 15.7°C | 102 | 9.3 | 12.512 h |
| October | 19.8°C9.4°C | 9.4°C | 79 | 7.2 | 11.311 h |
| November | 13.5°C3.6°C | 3.6°C | 76 | 7.5 | 10.210 h |
| December, selected | 8.5°C-0.2°C | -0.2°C | 84 | 8.3 | 9.710 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
- Lynchburg in DecemberUnited States · 72 kmHigh 9.0°C · Low 0.5°C · 96 mm rain
- Winston-Salem in DecemberUnited States · 133 kmHigh 10.0°C · Low 1.0°C · 93 mm rain
- Greensboro in DecemberUnited States · 134 kmHigh 10.1°C · Low 1.3°C · 91 mm rain
- High Point in DecemberUnited States · 146 kmHigh 10.1°C · Low 1.3°C · 94 mm rain
- Durham in DecemberUnited States · 170 kmHigh 11.1°C · Low 1.9°C · 89 mm rain
- Cary in DecemberUnited States · 194 kmHigh 11.2°C · Low 2.7°C · 90 mm rain
- Raleigh in DecemberUnited States · 203 kmHigh 11.5°C · Low 2.9°C · 90 mm rain
- Concord (North Carolina), United States in DecemberUnited States · 215 kmHigh 11.2°C · Low 2.5°C · 94 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 Roanoke) is explained once on the Roanoke year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.