Weather in Fresno in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Fresno. Highs average 15.6 °C, lows 5.2 °C, and rain falls on 8 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 8 of 12 in Fresno: past the worst of the year but short of April, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 8 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 15.6 °C days and 5.2 °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 25.5 °C and the coldest night fell to -3.4 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 36 mm — roughly 62% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 1 mm in the driest year against 179 mm in the wettest, around an average of 58 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 5.9 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 71%.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 21 °C in November, 15.6 here, 16.1 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December sits at the dark end of Fresno's year — 9.7 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.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 35.6 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Busy. Popular without being frantic; book the things you care about, improvise the rest.

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

December in Fresno versus nearby

If Fresno is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Bakersfield is a better bet in December — 3 °C warmer, 2 days less rain. San Jose is the weaker option in December — within a degree on temperature, 3 days more rain.

So: December is a compromise. April is 21 points better and is what Fresno 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 Fresno

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