Weather in Alice Springs in December

A hard month. December is a hard month in Alice Springs, and worth planning around. Daytime highs average 36.9 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

December ranks 11 of 12 — near the bottom of Alice Springs's year. August is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 68 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 8 days, 1 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for heat management rather than style: shade, water, and a schedule that gives up on the middle of the day.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 22 days of the month clear 35 °C — that is not a heatwave, it is the month. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 46.5 °C and the coldest night fell to 12.9 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 29 mm — roughly 63% of the month's rain in one day.

This is the volatile part. December rainfall has ranged from 0 mm to 177 mm across the twenty years measured — a 177 mm spread around an average of 46 mm. The average is real but almost no individual December looks like it, so treat the figure as the middle of a wide range rather than a forecast.

Wind is light at 12.8 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and the air is dry at 32% humidity, which makes the heat far more bearable than the same figure somewhere humid — and dehydrates you faster than you expect.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 36 °C in November, 36.9 here, 37.8 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Alice Springs's year: 13.6 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 31.7 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. Within December itself the daily swing is 14.8 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

December in Alice Springs versus nearby

If Alice Springs is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Mount Isa is the weaker option in December — within a degree on temperature, 2 days more rain. Whyalla is a better bet in December — 7.4 °C cooler, 5 days less rain.

So: December is a compromise. August is 57 points better and is what Alice Springs is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Alice Springs

See all twelve months in Alice Springs, or where else to go in December.