Weather in Burnie in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Burnie. Highs average 18 °C, lows 11.9 °C, and rain falls on 12 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 4 of 12 in Burnie: past the worst of the year but short of February, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 12 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 28 °C and the coldest night fell to 6.8 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 33 mm — roughly 43% of the month's rain in one day.

December is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest December on record still delivered 139 mm against 38 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 77 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 10.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 16.6 °C in November, 18 here, 20.2 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Burnie's year: 15.1 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 15.8 °C in December — cold — a quick dip rather than a swim, and a wetsuit if you are in for longer. The sea peaks at 18.3 °C in February and bottoms out at 12.5 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

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 Burnie versus nearby

If Burnie is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Devonport is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 3 days less rain. Launceston is a better bet in December — 4.6 °C warmer, 2 days less rain.

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

Every month in Burnie

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