Climate averages 1991–2020
Scottsdale weather
in December.
A mild, fairly dry month: the coolest and the 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Scottsdale: daytime highs average 17.7°C and nights cool to about 4.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 28 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 59 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Tempe (11 km away). In December its highs average 17.8°C, about as warm as Scottsdale, with 28 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Scottsdale ranks joint 72nd of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 43rd of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Scottsdale is 7.1°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.7°C to 18.4°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 28 mm to 32 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
Scottsdale climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 18.4°C4.7°C | 4.7°C | 32 | 3.7 | 10.210 h |
| February | 20.1°C6.2°C | 6.2°C | 38 | 4.1 | 11.011 h |
| March | 24.2°C9.0°C | 9.0°C | 26 | 2.8 | 12.012 h |
| April | 28.7°C12.9°C | 12.9°C | 8.0 | 1.3 | 13.013 h |
| May | 33.8°C18.2°C | 18.2°C | 4.1 | 0.6 | 13.914 h |
| June | 39.3°C23.6°C | 23.6°C | 1.8 | 0.4 | 14.314 h |
| July | 40.3°C27.7°C | 27.7°C | 19 | 3.5 | 14.114 h |
| August | 39.3°C27.2°C | 27.2°C | 29 | 4.4 | 13.413 h |
| September | 36.5°C23.1°C | 23.1°C | 24 | 3.1 | 12.412 h |
| October | 30.4°C15.8°C | 15.8°C | 20 | 2.2 | 11.411 h |
| November | 23.5°C9.3°C | 9.3°C | 18 | 2.2 | 10.510 h |
| December, selected | 17.7°C4.6°C | 4.6°C | 28 | 3.6 | 10.010 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
- Tempe in DecemberUnited States · 11 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.3°C · 28 mm rain
- Mesa in DecemberUnited States · 12 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.2°C · 33 mm rain
- Phoenix in DecemberUnited States · 18 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.5°C · 28 mm rain
- Chandler in DecemberUnited States · 23 kmHigh 18.1°C · Low 4.5°C · 27 mm rain
- Glendale (Arizona), United States in DecemberUnited States · 27 kmHigh 17.7°C · Low 4.8°C · 25 mm rain
- Peoria (Arizona), United States in DecemberUnited States · 32 kmHigh 17.7°C · Low 5.0°C · 25 mm rain
- Surprise in DecemberUnited States · 42 kmHigh 17.5°C · Low 4.9°C · 31 mm rain
- Avondale in DecemberUnited States · 43 kmHigh 18.2°C · Low 4.9°C · 25 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 Scottsdale) is explained once on the Scottsdale year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Phoenix and Tempe lie in the same rainfall cell, so their rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.