Climate averages 1991–2020
Tucson weather
in December.
A mild, fairly dry month: the coolest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in Tucson: daytime highs average 17.1°C and nights cool to about 3.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.
Expect about 31 mm of rain on roughly 4 days, which makes December a fairly dry month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 05 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Nogales (102 km away). In December its highs average 15.8°C, 1.2°C cooler than Tucson, with 37 mm of rain.
Among the 498 cities listed in the United States, Tucson ranks joint 102nd of 498 for the warmest December highs and joint 53rd of 498 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 498 cities is 10.5°C; Tucson is 6.5°C warmer than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 0.5°C to 17.6°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 31 mm to 29 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
Tucson climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17.6°C4.0°C | 4.0°C | 29 | 4.0 | 10.310 h |
| February | 19.3°C5.4°C | 5.4°C | 28 | 3.8 | 11.011 h |
| March | 23.3°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 17 | 3.0 | 12.012 h |
| April | 27.6°C12.3°C | 12.3°C | 6.0 | 1.4 | 12.913 h |
| May | 32.4°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 2.7 | 0.8 | 13.814 h |
| June | 37.5°C22.6°C | 22.6°C | 4.6 | 1.2 | 14.214 h |
| July | 36.8°C25.1°C | 25.1°C | 33 | 7.8 | 14.014 h |
| August | 36.0°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 33 | 7.5 | 13.313 h |
| September | 34.1°C21.3°C | 21.3°C | 25 | 3.7 | 12.412 h |
| October | 29.2°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 14 | 2.3 | 11.411 h |
| November | 22.6°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 17 | 2.5 | 10.511 h |
| December, selected | 17.1°C3.8°C | 3.8°C | 31 | 4.3 | 10.110 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
- Nogales in DecemberMexico · 102 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 2.1°C · 37 mm rain
- San Tan Valley in DecemberUnited States · 122 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 4.8°C · 34 mm rain
- Chandler in DecemberUnited States · 148 kmHigh 18.1°C · Low 4.5°C · 27 mm rain
- Mesa in DecemberUnited States · 158 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.2°C · 33 mm rain
- Tempe in DecemberUnited States · 161 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.3°C · 28 mm rain
- Agua Prieta in DecemberMexico · 165 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 2.5°C · 29 mm rain
- Scottsdale in DecemberUnited States · 170 kmHigh 17.7°C · Low 4.6°C · 28 mm rain
- Phoenix in DecemberUnited States · 173 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 4.5°C · 28 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 Tucson) is explained once on the Tucson year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.