Weather in Griffith in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 32.3 °C, lows 16.4 °C, and rain falls on 5 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Griffith'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. Worth keeping in perspective: December is the weakest month of Griffith's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain falls on only 5 days, so an itinerary with no wet-weather fallback is a reasonable risk. Pack for 32.3 °C days and 16.4 °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: 9 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable; the day swings 15.9 °C from low to high, which means one bag has to cover both. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 45.8 °C and the coldest night fell to 6.8 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 37 mm — roughly 100% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 3 mm in the driest year against 99 mm in the wettest, around an average of 37 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 the air is dry at 40% humidity, which makes the heat far more bearable than the same figure somewhere humid — and dehydrates you faster than you expect.

How December sits in the year

The month is on the way up: 2.5 °C warmer than November, and January adds another 3.2 °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 Griffith's year: 14.4 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 — 31.3 °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 15.9 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

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 Griffith versus nearby

If Griffith is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Wodonga is close enough to be a coin toss — 2.5 °C cooler, 2 days more rain. Canberra is a better bet in December — 5.2 °C cooler, 5 days more rain.

So: December is a compromise. April is 25 points better and is what Griffith 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 Griffith

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