Gatineau weather in December

In December, Gatineau sees average daytime highs of -2°C and overnight lows near -9°C, with 79 mm of precipitation across 11.4 wet days and about 8.6 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 1°C in the first days to -4°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 48 min at the start of December to 8 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Gatineau's 12th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Gatineau's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-2°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-9°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
79 mm
11.4 wet days
Daylight
8 h 30 min
7:43 AM – 4:15 PM
Cloud cover
79%
12th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
1.19 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Gatineau is city in Quebec, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
877/km²
people per km²
Founded
1933

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 1°C in the first days to -4°C by the end.

A typical December day in Gatineau reaches about -2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -9°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -10°C and 5°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 7°C cooler than November and about 4°C warmer than January.

-20°-10°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
11-5
21-6
31-6
40-6
50-7
60-7
70-7
8-1-7
9-1-8
10-1-8
11-1-8
12-1-8
13-2-9
14-2-9
15-2-9
16-2-9
17-2-10
18-2-10
19-3-10
20-3-10
21-3-10
22-3-10
23-3-11
24-3-11
25-3-11
26-3-11
27-4-11
28-4-12
29-4-12
30-4-12
31-4-12

How December really feels in Gatineau

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.

Gatineau weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-6° / -15°7310.59.78.90.0
Feb-4° / -14°578.78.110.10.0
Mar / -8°739.96.811.60.0
Apr11° / 9011.13.213.22.6
May19° / 8811.40.214.75.6
Jun23° / 12°9911.7015.46.4
Jul26° / 15°9812.4015.16.4
Aug24° / 14°9011.1013.96.7
Sep20° / 10°9510.4012.36.2
Oct12° / 9912.30.710.73.1
Nov / -2°8311.44.49.30.4
Dec-2° / -9°7911.49.18.60.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 10% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 81%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11684
21684
31783
41783
51783
61783
71783
81783
91882
101882
111882
121882
131882
141882
151882
161882
171981
181981
191981
202080
212179
222278
232377
242377
252377
262377
272377
282377
292476
302575
312575

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Gatineau gets around 79 mm of rain and snow over 11.4 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 37% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13924
23924
33824
43825
53825
63725
73726
83626
93627
103627
113628
123629
133629
143630
153630
163731
173731
183731
193731
203732
213732
223732
233732
243732
253732
263632
273632
283632
293632
303633
313633

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 12 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812calm
912calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min at the start of December to 8 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 7:29 AM to 7:49 AM, and sunset from 4:16 PM to 4:23 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.87:294:16
28.87:304:16
38.77:314:15
48.77:324:15
58.77:334:15
68.77:344:15
78.77:354:14
88.67:364:14
98.67:374:14
108.67:384:14
118.67:394:14
128.67:404:14
138.67:414:14
148.67:414:15
158.57:424:15
168.57:434:15
178.57:444:15
188.57:444:16
198.57:454:16
208.57:454:16
218.57:464:17
228.57:464:17
238.57:474:18
248.57:474:18
258.57:484:19
268.57:484:19
278.57:484:20
288.57:494:21
298.57:494:21
308.67:494:22
318.67:494:23

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.19 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.19 kWh/m² to a high of 5.97 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 1.19 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.2Dim
71.2Dim
81.2Dim
91.2Dim
101.2Dim
111.2Dim
121.2Dim
131.2Dim
141.2Dim
151.2Dim
161.2Dim
171.2Dim
181.2Dim
191.2Dim
201.2Dim
211.2Dim
221.2Dim
231.2Dim
241.2Dim
251.2Dim
261.2Dim
271.2Dim
281.2Dim
291.3Dim
301.3Dim
311.3Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Gatineau?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
9th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Gatineau.

What to pack for Gatineau in December

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

In December, Gatineau sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -9°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Gatineau in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gatineau peaks around July 14 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 14UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul8Very high
Aug5Moderate
Sep5High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Gatineau?

Gatineau sits at 45.5°N, 75.7°W, 53 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Vanier, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Gatineau

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gatineau has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 70 m around an average of 57 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 363 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 585 m.

The land around Gatineau is covered by artificial surfaces (44%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, trees (53%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 16 km, and trees (64%) and cropland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
70 m
16 km
363 m
80 km
585 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
December weather nearby: Vanier 5.0 km · Hull 6.0 km · Centretown 7.0 km · Ottawa 7.0 km · Templeton-Est 9.0 km · Ottawa South 10 km · Alta Vista 11 km · Aylmer 12 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 Gatineau (45.4772°, -75.7016°, elevation 53 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).