Weather in Catania in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Catania. Highs average 16.7 °C, lows 9.2 °C, and rain falls on 12 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 9 of 12 in Catania: past the worst of the year but short of May, 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. Pack for 16.7 °C days and 9.2 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

The averages here are honest — no hidden extremes worth planning around. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 25.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 3.3 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 81 mm — roughly 101% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 8 mm in the driest year against 175 mm in the wettest, around an average of 80 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 10 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 83%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 21 °C in November, 16.7 here, 15.5 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December sits at the dark end of Catania's year — 9.6 hours of daylight against 14.7 at midsummer, holding steady all month. Sightseeing days are genuinely shorter, and an itinerary built for summer will not fit.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 17.6 °C in December — cold — a quick dip rather than a swim, and a wetsuit if you are in for longer. The sea peaks at 27 °C in August and bottoms out at 15 °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

Shoulder. The value months — prices ease off and you get the place closer to itself.

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

December in Catania versus nearby

If Catania is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Taormina is the weaker option in December — 2 °C cooler, 3 days more rain. Palermo is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain.

So: December is a compromise. May is 27 points better and is what Catania 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 Catania

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