Weather in San Miguel de Tucumán in December

A hard month. December asks something of you. Go in knowing what. Highs average 33.6 °C, lows 20.5 °C, and rain falls on 13 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

December ranks 12 of 12 — near the bottom of San Miguel de Tucumán's year. July is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 55 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

This is wet-season rain: 13 wet days and 5 genuinely heavy ones, which in this climate means concentrated downpours rather than all-day grey. The pattern is usually a clear morning and a loud afternoon, so front-load the day and stop fighting the 3pm hour. Pack for 33.6 °C days and 20.5 °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: 12 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest December day reached 44 °C and the coldest night fell to 12.4 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 68 mm — roughly 44% 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 225 mm against 58 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 154 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 9.7 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 60%.

How December sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 34 °C in November, 33.6 here, 33.2 in January. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in December

December is at or near the longest days of San Miguel de Tucumán's year: 13.8 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 — 26.5 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

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

December in San Miguel de Tucumán versus nearby

If San Miguel de Tucumán is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Salta is close enough to be a coin toss — 2 °C cooler, 2 days more rain. Córdoba is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: December is a compromise. July is 55 points better and is what San Miguel de Tucumán 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 San Miguel de Tucumán

See all twelve months in San Miguel de Tucumán, or where else to go in December.