Weather in Dubbo in December

Shoulder season. December is shoulder season in Dubbo — cheaper, quieter, and a genuine gamble. Highs average 32.8 °C, lows 17.4 °C, and rain falls on 8 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Dubbo's year. April is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 44 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 8 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 32.8 °C days and 17.4 °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: 10 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable; the day swings 15.4 °C from low to high, which means one bag has to cover both. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 44.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 7.1 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 70 mm — roughly 101% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 3 mm in the driest year against 176 mm in the wettest, around an average of 69 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 11.6 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 46%.

How December sits in the year

The month is on the way up: 2.2 °C warmer than November, and January adds another 2.5 °C. Late in the month feels noticeably different from the start of it, which is worth knowing if the trip is short.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Dubbo's year: 14.2 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 °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 15.4 °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 Dubbo versus nearby

If Dubbo is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Bathurst is a better bet in December — 5.3 °C cooler, 1 day more rain. Katoomba is a better bet in December — 7.8 °C cooler, 3 days more rain.

So: December is a compromise. April is 34 points better and is what Dubbo 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 Dubbo

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