Climate averages 1991–2020
Scranton weather
in December.
A cold, moderately wet month: the 10th warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a cold month in Scranton: daytime highs average 3.4°C and nights cool to about -3.4°C. By daytime temperature it is the 10th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 83 mm of rain on roughly 11 days, which makes December a moderately wet month (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 15 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Allentown (90 km away). In December its highs average 5.4°C, 2.0°C warmer than Scranton, with 101 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Scranton ranks 410th of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 287th of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Scranton is 7.1°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs fall by 2.6°C to 0.9°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 83 mm to 75 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
Scranton climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.9°C-7.3°C | -7.3°C | 75 | 9.4 | 9.610 h |
| February | 2.5°C-6.8°C | -6.8°C | 64 | 9.1 | 10.611 h |
| March | 7.2°C-2.6°C | -2.6°C | 91 | 11.4 | 11.912 h |
| April | 14.2°C3.7°C | 3.7°C | 89 | 11.7 | 13.313 h |
| May | 20.0°C10.0°C | 10.0°C | 89 | 12.6 | 14.514 h |
| June | 24.6°C15.1°C | 15.1°C | 97 | 12.0 | 15.115 h |
| July | 27.4°C18.0°C | 18.0°C | 76 | 10.9 | 14.815 h |
| August | 26.5°C17.3°C | 17.3°C | 84 | 9.9 | 13.814 h |
| September | 22.6°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 95 | 9.3 | 12.513 h |
| October | 15.7°C7.5°C | 7.5°C | 93 | 9.6 | 11.111 h |
| November | 9.1°C1.7°C | 1.7°C | 77 | 8.7 | 9.910 h |
| December, selected | 3.4°C-3.4°C | -3.4°C | 83 | 10.5 | 9.29 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
- Allentown in DecemberUnited States · 90 kmHigh 5.4°C · Low -2.4°C · 101 mm rain
- Bethlehem, United States in DecemberUnited States · 91 kmHigh 5.4°C · Low -2.4°C · 104 mm rain
- Reading, United States in DecemberUnited States · 121 kmHigh 5.9°C · Low -1.3°C · 94 mm rain
- Paterson in DecemberUnited States · 136 kmHigh 5.6°C · Low -1.4°C · 105 mm rain
- Passaic in DecemberUnited States · 143 kmHigh 5.6°C · Low -1.4°C · 103 mm rain
- Edison in DecemberUnited States · 144 kmHigh 6.3°C · Low -0.8°C · 102 mm rain
- Newark in DecemberUnited States · 146 kmHigh 6.1°C · Low -1.4°C · 103 mm rain
- Trenton in DecemberUnited States · 154 kmHigh 6.7°C · Low -0.9°C · 102 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 Scranton) is explained once on the Scranton year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.