Weather in Devonport in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 17.5 °C, lows 12.9 °C, and rain falls on 9 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

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

Rain on 9 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 17.5 °C days and 12.9 °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: the day barely swings — 4.6 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 23.6 °C and the coldest night fell to 8.2 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 45 mm — roughly 68% 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 102 mm against 20 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 66 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 14 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 76%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 16 °C in November, 17.5 here, 19.5 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Devonport'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 Devonport versus nearby

If Devonport is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Burnie is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 3 days more rain. Launceston is close enough to be a coin toss — 5.1 °C warmer, 1 day more 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 Devonport

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