Cafayate weather in December

In December, Cafayate sees average daytime highs of 24°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 85 mm of rain across 13.6 wet days and about 13.6 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 30 min at the start of December to 13 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Cafayate's 10th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cafayate's year-round climate.

Daytime high
24°
1st warmest
Overnight low
13°
11th coldest
Rainfall
85 mm
13.6 wet days
Daylight
13 h 36 min
6:31 AM – 8:09 PM
Cloud cover
60%
10th clearest
Wind
6 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
7.04 kWh/m²
Travel score
6.4
out of 10

Cafayate is human settlement in Argentina.

Founded
1840

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 24°C through the month.

A typical December day in Cafayate reaches about 24°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 19°C and 29°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 1°C warmer than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

10°15°20°25°30°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
12412
22412
32412
42412
52412
62412
72412
82412
92412
102412
112413
122413
132413
142413
152413
162413
172413
182413
192413
202413
212413
222413
232413
242413
252413
262413
272413
282413
292413
302413
312413

How December really feels in Cafayate

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Cafayate weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 1st-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan23° / 13°12817.8013.45.6
Feb22° / 13°9915.2012.95.6
Mar22° / 12°7112.2012.26.3
Apr21° / 10°235011.47.5
May19° / 122.80.310.77.5
Jun17° / 40.80.310.47.4
Jul17° / 410.710.57.1
Aug19° / 41.30.311.17.9
Sep20° / 102.90.411.87.9
Oct22° / 256.10.112.67.5
Nov23° / 11°5210.5013.36.8
Dec24° / 13°8513.6013.66.4

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 28% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 48%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15644
25644
35545
45446
55446
65347
75347
85446
95347
105347
115347
125248
135347
145347
155347
165248
175248
185248
195248
205248
215149
225149
235149
245149
255050
265050
274951
284852
294852
304753
314753

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Cafayate gets around 85 mm of rain over 13.6 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 44% and peaks near 50% on the wettest days.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
143
243
344
444
544
645
745
845
945
1045
1145
1245
1344
1444
1543
1643
1743
1842
1942
2042
2142
2243
2343
2444
2544
2645
2746
2847
2948
3049
3150

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of December feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 94% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1991
2991
3991
4991
5991
6982
7982
8982
9982
10973
11973
12964
13964
14964
15955
16955
17955
18946
19946
20937
21937
22928
23928
24919
25919
269010
279010
288911
298812
308812
318713

Wind in December

Winds average 6 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 30 min at the start of December to 13 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:28 AM to 6:39 AM, and sunset from 7:59 PM to 8:15 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.56:287:59
213.56:288:00
313.56:288:01
413.56:288:01
513.66:298:02
613.66:298:03
713.66:298:03
813.66:298:04
913.66:298:05
1013.66:308:05
1113.66:308:06
1213.66:308:06
1313.66:308:07
1413.66:318:08
1513.66:318:08
1613.66:318:09
1713.66:328:09
1813.66:328:10
1913.66:338:10
2013.66:338:11
2113.66:338:11
2213.66:348:12
2313.66:348:12
2413.66:358:13
2513.66:358:13
2613.66:368:14
2713.66:368:14
2813.66:378:14
2913.66:388:15
3013.66:388:15
3113.66:398:15

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 7.04 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.19 kWh/m² to a high of 7.13 kWh/m² in November across the year — December's 7.04 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

02468151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
17.1Intense
27.0Intense
37.0Intense
47.0Intense
57.0Intense
67.0Intense
77.0Intense
87.0Intense
97.0Intense
107.0Intense
117.0Intense
127.0Intense
137.0Intense
147.0Intense
157.0Intense
167.0Intense
177.0Intense
187.0Intense
197.0Intense
207.0Intense
217.0Intense
227.0Intense
237.0Intense
247.0Intense
257.0Intense
267.0Intense
277.0Intense
287.0Intense
296.9Intense
306.9Intense
316.9Intense
Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Cafayate

In seasonPeak

In December, Cafayate sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Cafayate's rainy season runs December–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is December a good time to visit Cafayate?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

6.4
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
5.4
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Cafayate for sightseeing.

What to pack for Cafayate in December

From December's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In December, Cafayate sees daytime highs around 24°C and nights near 13°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes and rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothesrain gear

UV index in Cafayate in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 16 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cafayate peaks around January 16 at about 17 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near July 11 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highHighVery highExtremeJan 16UV 17Jul 11UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan17Extreme
Feb16Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr9Very high
May7High
Jun6High
Jul5High
Aug8Very high
Sep11Extreme
Oct15Extreme
Nov15Extreme
Dec16Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Cafayate?

Cafayate sits at 26.1°S, 66.0°W, 1,625 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is Santa María, 69 km away.

Topography around Cafayate

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Cafayate.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cafayate has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 334 m around an average of 1,643 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,941 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,705 m.

The land around Cafayate is covered by cropland (31%) and shrubs (29%) within 3 km, grassland (39%), shrubs (30%) and bare terrain (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (41%) and bare terrain (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
334 m
16 km
2,941 m
80 km
4,705 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
December weather nearby: Santa María 69 km · Tafí Viejo 102 km · Rosario de la Frontera 105 km · Yerba Buena 107 km · San Miguel de Tucuman 113 km · Alderetes 117 km · San José de Metán 119 km · Famaillá 123 km

Argentina travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / I
220 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 46% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$14,898
2025
Happiness
6.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
4.5
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
14.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 575
Religion
Roman Catholic 63%none 19%Evangelical 15%Jehovah's Witness and Church of Jesus Christ 1%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Cafayate (-26.0729°, -65.9777°, elevation 1,625 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).