Weather in Baton Rouge in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 17.4 °C, lows 5.9 °C, and rain falls on 11 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 6 of 12 in Baton Rouge: past the worst of the year but short of November, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

The rain arrives in bursts — 5 of the 11 wet days are heavy ones. Mornings tend to hold; build the outdoor half of each day before lunch and keep the afternoon flexible. Pack for 17.4 °C days and 5.9 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 5 nights fall below freezing. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 27.6 °C and the coldest night fell to -6 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 75 mm — roughly 56% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 69 mm in the driest year against 334 mm in the wettest, around an average of 135 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 6.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 84%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

The month is on the way down: 4.5 °C cooler than November, with January dropping another 1.7 °C. The first week and the last are not the same trip.

Daylight in December

December sits at the dark end of Baton Rouge's year — 10.2 hours of daylight against 14.1 at midsummer, holding steady all month. Sightseeing days are genuinely shorter, and an itinerary built for summer will not fit.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 28.5 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

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

December in Baton Rouge versus nearby

If Baton Rouge is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. New Orleans is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain. Jackson is the weaker option in December — 3 °C cooler, the same number of rain days.

So: December works, with November the better month by 14 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Baton Rouge

See all twelve months in Baton Rouge, or where else to go in December.