Grande Prairie weather in December

In December, Grande Prairie sees average daytime highs of -7°C and overnight lows near -14°C, with 22 mm of precipitation across 6.3 wet days and about 7 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -5°C in the first days to -8°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 18 min at the start of December to 6 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Grande Prairie's 6th-clearest and 7th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Grande Prairie's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-7°
11th warmest
Overnight low
-14°
2nd coldest
Precipitation
22 mm
6.3 wet days
Daylight
6 h 54 min
9:24 AM – 4:18 PM
Cloud cover
65%
6th clearest
Wind
11 km/h
7th windiest
Solar energy
0.65 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Grande Prairie is city in Alberta, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,130/km²
people per km²
Founded
1914

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 -5°C in the first days to -8°C by the end.

A typical December day in Grande Prairie reaches about -7°C in the afternoon and slips back to -14°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -19°C and 3°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)
1-5-12
2-5-13
3-5-13
4-5-13
5-6-13
6-6-13
7-6-13
8-6-13
9-6-13
10-6-13
11-6-13
12-6-14
13-6-14
14-6-14
15-6-14
16-6-14
17-6-14
18-6-14
19-7-14
20-7-14
21-7-14
22-7-14
23-7-15
24-7-15
25-7-15
26-8-15
27-8-15
28-8-15
29-8-16
30-8-16
31-8-16

How December really feels in Grande Prairie

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.

Grande Prairie weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -15°287.787.50.0
Feb-5° / -13°164.85.79.20.0
Mar / -9°216.15.911.40.0
Apr / -2°256.22.813.82.0
May16° / 407.50.715.85.2
Jun20° / 7311.30175.9
Jul22° / 11°7711.8016.66.4
Aug21° / 10°478.9014.86.7
Sep16° / 407.80.412.55.2
Oct / -1°357.32.810.21.6
Nov-2° / -9°318.37.18.10.0
Dec-7° / -14°226.36.570.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% 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 62%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13961
23961
33961
44060
53961
63961
74060
84060
94060
103961
113961
123961
133961
143961
153961
163862
173862
183862
193862
203763
213763
223763
233763
243763
253664
263664
273664
283763
293664
303664
313664

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Grande Prairie gets around 22 mm of rain and snow over 6.3 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 21% and peaks near 24% on the wettest days, and about 7 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12323
22323
32323
42323
52323
62323
72323
82423
92423
102423
112423
122423
132323
142323
152222
162222
172121
182020
191920
201919
211819
221819
231718
241718
251719
261719
271819
281819
291820
301920
311921

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 11 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 18 min at the start of December to 6 h 54 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 9:06 AM to 9:30 AM, and sunset from 4:24 PM to 4:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.39:064:24
27.29:084:23
37.29:094:22
47.29:114:21
57.19:124:21
67.19:144:20
77.19:154:20
87.19:164:19
97.09:174:19
107.09:194:19
117.09:204:19
127.09:214:18
136.99:224:18
146.99:234:18
156.99:244:18
166.99:244:18
176.99:254:18
186.99:264:19
196.99:274:19
206.99:274:19
216.99:284:20
226.99:284:20
236.99:294:21
246.99:294:21
256.99:294:22
266.99:304:22
276.99:304:23
286.99:304:24
296.99:304:25
306.99:304:26
316.99:304:27

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.65 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.65 kWh/m² to a high of 6.34 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.65 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.8Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.7Dim
80.7Dim
90.7Dim
100.7Dim
110.7Dim
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.6Dim
160.6Dim
170.6Dim
180.6Dim
190.6Dim
200.6Dim
210.6Dim
220.6Dim
230.6Dim
240.6Dim
250.6Dim
260.7Dim
270.7Dim
280.7Dim
290.7Dim
300.7Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Grande Prairie?

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 Grande Prairie.

What to pack for Grande Prairie in December

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

In December, Grande Prairie sees daytime highs around -7°C and nights near -14°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Grande Prairie 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 Grande Prairie peaks around July 15 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 15UV 7Dec 18UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun6High
Jul7Very high
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Grande Prairie?

Grande Prairie sits at 55.2°N, 118.8°W, 653 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Fort St. John, 176 km away.

Stony PlainSpruce GroveSt. AlbertWîhkwêntôwinEdmonton

Topography around Grande Prairie

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Grande Prairie has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 662 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 273 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,036 m.

The land around Grande Prairie is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) within 3 km, trees (33%), cropland (32%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (65%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
57 m
16 km
273 m
80 km
1,036 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Fort St. John 176 km · Jasper 259 km · Prince George 290 km · Stony Plain 360 km · Spruce Grove 365 km · St. Albert 375 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 387 km · Edmonton 389 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 Grande Prairie (55.1667°, -118.8027°, elevation 653 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).