Weather in New Orleans in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in New Orleans. Highs average 16.9 °C, lows 10.2 °C, and rain falls on 10 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 7 of 12 in New Orleans: past the worst of the year but short of November, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 10 days, 4 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 16.9 °C days and 10.2 °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 24.5 °C and the coldest night fell to -0.2 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 81 mm — roughly 63% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 35 mm in the driest year against 443 mm in the wettest, around an average of 128 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 12.8 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 82%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 20.6 °C in November, 16.9 here, 15.5 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December sits at the dark end of New Orleans's year — 10.2 hours of daylight against 14.1 at midsummer, holding steady all month. Sightseeing days are genuinely shorter, and an itinerary built for summer will not fit.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 22.3 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

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 New Orleans versus nearby

If New Orleans is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Baton Rouge is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain. Mobile is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain.

So: December works, with November the better month by 15 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in New Orleans

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