Weather in Palmerston North in December

A good month. December is a solid month to be in Palmerston North. Highs average 20.9 °C, lows 12.2 °C, and rain falls on 14 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 4 of 12 in Palmerston North: past the worst of the year but short of January, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

This is persistent light rain rather than storms: 14 wet days but only 2 heavy ones. It rarely cancels anything outright, and it rarely fully clears either. A jacket beats an umbrella. 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. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 30.6 °C and the coldest night fell to 4.4 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 40 mm — roughly 49% of the month's rain in one day.

December is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest December on record still delivered 137 mm against 44 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 82 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 14.3 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity runs at 79%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How December sits in the year

The month is on the way up: 2.8 °C warmer than November, and January adds another 2.4 °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 Palmerston North's year: 15 hours of daylight, holding steady all month. Evenings are the real gain — dinner outdoors still happens in full light.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 17.7 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Peak season. Expect the highest prices of the year and to be booking well ahead.

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

December in Palmerston North versus nearby

If Palmerston North is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Wellington is close enough to be a coin toss — 3.3 °C cooler, 2 days less rain. Taupo is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: December works, with January the better month by 8 points if the dates can move. If they cannot, nothing here should stop you booking.

Every month in Palmerston North

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