Weather in Nuku‘alofa in December

A good month. December works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. You should expect rain on 17 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

Nuku‘alofa barely has seasons. December scores 67 out of 100 against a best of 78 in July — a gap small enough that the month you choose matters far less here than the week you choose.

Rain on 17 days, 4 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Nothing specialised needed — this is the month you pack for the trip rather than for the weather.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: it never really gets hot: not one day in an average December reaches 30 °C; the day barely swings — 0.8 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 28.1 °C and the coldest night fell to 22.1 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 54 mm — roughly 47% of the month's rain in one day.

December is moderately variable: 45 mm in the driest year against 254 mm in the wettest, around an average of 115 mm. Roughly two Decembers in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 20.3 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 80%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 24.8 °C in November, 26 here, 26.9 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of Nuku‘alofa's year: 13.4 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 26.8 °C in December — warm enough to stay in as long as you like. The sea peaks at 28.1 °C in February and bottoms out at 24.3 °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

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 Nuku‘alofa versus nearby

If Nuku‘alofa is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Apia is the weaker option in December — 2.7 °C warmer, 8 days more rain. Avarua is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain.

So: December works, with July the better month by 11 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Nuku‘alofa

See all twelve months in Nuku‘alofa, or where else to go in December.