Fort St. John weather in December

In December, Fort St. John sees average daytime highs of -8°C and overnight lows near -15°C, with 23 mm of precipitation across 5.6 wet days and about 6.7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -7°C in the first days to -10°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 06 min at the start of December to 6 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Fort St. John's 10th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort St. John's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-8°
11th warmest
Overnight low
-15°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
23 mm
5.6 wet days
Daylight
6 h 36 min
9:40 AM – 4:19 PM
Cloud cover
69%
10th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
0.54 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Fort St. John is city in British Columbia, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9 µg/m³ · 2018
Density
946/km²
people per km²
Founded
1975

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -7°C in the first days to -10°C by the end.

A typical December day in Fort St. John reaches about -8°C in the afternoon and slips back to -15°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -21°C and 2°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 5°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

-30°-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-7-14
2-7-14
3-7-14
4-7-14
5-7-14
6-7-15
7-8-15
8-8-15
9-8-15
10-8-15
11-8-15
12-8-15
13-8-15
14-8-15
15-8-15
16-8-15
17-8-15
18-8-15
19-8-15
20-8-15
21-9-16
22-9-16
23-9-16
24-9-16
25-9-16
26-9-16
27-10-17
28-10-17
29-10-17
30-10-17
31-10-17

How December really feels in Fort St. John

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in December is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fort St. John weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-9° / -17°257.17.67.30.0
Feb-6° / -14°164.55.39.10.0
Mar-0° / -10°236.67.111.40.0
Apr / -2°255.73.413.81.8
May16° / 408.21.1165.1
Jun20° / 7510.9017.36.0
Jul22° / 10°8011.3016.86.4
Aug21° / 478.6014.96.6
Sep15° / 438.10.512.54.8
Oct / -1°337.33.710.11.2
Nov-3° / -10°317.47.37.90.0
Dec-8° / -15°235.66.46.70.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 65%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13664
23664
33664
43763
53763
63763
73763
83763
93763
103763
113664
123664
133664
143664
153664
163565
173565
183565
193565
203565
213466
223466
233466
243466
253367
263367
273466
283466
293466
303466
313367

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Fort St. John gets around 23 mm of rain and snow over 5.6 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 19% and peaks near 21% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12123
22123
32123
42123
52123
62123
72123
82123
92124
102124
112124
122124
132124
142124
152123
162023
172022
181922
191821
201820
211720
221719
231619
241618
251618
261618
271618
281618
291719
301719
311820

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 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in December

Winds average 10 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 9 km/h on the calmest days to 10 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
259calm
269calm
279calm
289calm
299calm
309calm
319calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 06 min at the start of December to 6 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 9:21 AM to 9:46 AM, and sunset from 4:25 PM to 4:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.19:214:25
27.09:234:24
37.09:244:23
46.99:264:23
56.99:274:22
66.99:294:21
76.89:304:21
86.89:324:20
96.89:334:20
106.89:344:20
116.79:354:19
126.79:364:19
136.79:374:19
146.79:384:19
156.79:394:19
166.69:404:19
176.69:414:19
186.69:424:19
196.69:434:19
206.69:434:20
216.69:444:20
226.69:444:21
236.69:454:21
246.69:454:22
256.69:454:22
266.69:464:23
276.69:464:24
286.69:464:25
296.79:464:25
306.79:464:26
316.79:464:27

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.54 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.54 kWh/m² to a high of 6.23 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.54 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.6Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.5Dim
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.5Dim
210.5Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.5Dim
270.5Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.6Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Fort St. John?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort St. John.

What to pack for Fort St. John in December

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

In December, Fort St. John sees daytime highs around -8°C and nights near -15°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Fort St. John in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort St. John peaks around July 13 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun6High
Jul7High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low

Air quality in Fort St. John in December

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where December falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Fort St. John is worst in May — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 5.3× the cleanest month (March, 4 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Fort St. John's WHO annual average of 9 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodMay 1720 µg/m³Mar 154 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb5Good
Mar4Good
Apr6Good
May22Moderate
Jun8Good
Jul12Good
Aug9Good
Sep6Good
Oct7Good
Nov12Good
Dec11Good
Location & terrain

Where is Fort St. John?

Fort St. John sits at 56.2°N, 120.9°W, 696 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Grande Prairie, 176 km away.

Prince GeorgeJasperTerraceStony PlainSpruce GroveSt. AlbertWîhkwêntôwin

Topography around Fort St. John

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort St. John has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 126 m around an average of 685 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 466 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 963 m.

The land around Fort St. John is covered by artificial surfaces (32%), trees (26%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, trees (50%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and trees (67%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
126 m
16 km
466 m
80 km
963 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
December weather nearby: Grande Prairie 176 km · Prince George 286 km · Jasper 415 km · Terrace 526 km · Stony Plain 532 km · Spruce Grove 536 km · St. Albert 545 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 557 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 83% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$55,698
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

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 Fort St. John (56.2499°, -120.8529°, elevation 696 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).