Caen weather in December

In December, Caen sees average daytime highs of 9°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 74 mm of precipitation across 13.3 wet days and about 8.1 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 9°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 h 18 min at the start of December to 8 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Caen's 10th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Caen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
74 mm
13.3 wet days
Daylight
8 hours
8:57 AM – 4:58 PM
Cloud cover
73%
10th clearest
Wind
17 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.81 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.5
out of 10

Caen is commune in Calvados, France.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9.1 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
4,304/km²
people per km²

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 9°C through the month.

A typical December day in Caen reaches about 9°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°C and 13°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
195
295
395
495
595
694
794
894
994
1094
1194
1294
1394
1494
1594
1694
1794
1894
1994
2084
2184
2284
2384
2484
2584
2684
2784
2884
2984
3084
3184

How December really feels in Caen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 8 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
8
wind chill below the day's low

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

Caen weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5911.50.58.51.3
Feb / 5111.10.89.81.6
Mar12° / 5411.30.411.62.9
Apr15° / 5611.70.113.44.1
May18° / 10°5811.40155.3
Jun21° / 12°6210.5015.96.1
Jul23° / 14°5510.9015.66.6
Aug23° / 14°6010.1014.26.7
Sep20° / 12°539.7012.46.2
Oct16° / 6512.3010.54.6
Nov11° / 6612.808.92.6
Dec / 7413.30.58.11.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12377
22575
32575
42575
52674
62773
72872
82872
92872
102872
112872
122872
132773
142773
152773
162773
172773
182773
192674
202575
212575
222575
232575
242674
252773
262674
272674
282674
292674
302773
312773

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Caen gets around 74 mm of rain and snow over 13.3 wet days in December, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 42% and peaks near 45% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1451
2451
3441
4441
5431
6431
7421
8421
9411
10411
11411
12411
13412
14412
15412
16412
17422
18422
19422
20432
21432
22433
23432
24432
25432
26432
27432
28422
29422
30412
31412

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 17 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 16 km/h on the calmest days to 17 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1617light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 18 min at the start of December to 8 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:42 AM to 9:03 AM, and sunset from 5:00 PM to 5:06 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.38:425:00
28.38:445:00
38.28:454:59
48.28:464:59
58.28:474:58
68.28:484:58
78.18:494:58
88.18:504:58
98.18:514:58
108.18:524:57
118.18:534:57
128.18:544:57
138.08:554:57
148.08:564:58
158.08:574:58
168.08:574:58
178.08:584:58
188.08:594:58
198.08:594:59
208.09:004:59
218.09:004:59
228.09:015:00
238.09:015:00
248.09:025:01
258.09:025:01
268.09:025:02
278.09:035:03
288.09:035:03
298.09:035:04
308.09:035:05
318.09:035:06

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.81 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.81 kWh/m² to a high of 5.83 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.81 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.9Dim
20.9Dim
30.9Dim
40.9Dim
50.9Dim
60.9Dim
70.9Dim
80.9Dim
90.8Dim
100.8Dim
110.8Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.8Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.8Dim
230.8Dim
240.8Dim
250.8Dim
260.8Dim
270.8Dim
280.8Dim
290.8Dim
300.8Dim
310.8Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Caen?

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

1.5
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Caen.

What to pack for Caen in December

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

In December, Caen sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Caen in December

The nearest coast averages about 10°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 21 km away) is warmest in August at about 19°C and coldest in February near 8°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan9Bracing
Feb8Bracing
Mar8Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug19Cool
Sep18Cool
Oct16Cool
Nov13Bracing
Dec10Bracing

UV index in Caen 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 Caen peaks around June 18 at about 7 (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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 18UV 7Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul6High
Aug7High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Caen?

Caen sits at 49.2°N, 0.4°W, 21 m above sea level, in France. The nearest listed city is Hérouville-Saint-Clair, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Caen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Caen has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 91 m around an average of 33 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 181 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 459 m.

The land around Caen is covered by artificial surfaces (59%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, cropland (53%) within 16 km, and grassland (31%), cropland (29%) and water (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
91 m
16 km
181 m
80 km
459 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Hérouville-Saint-Clair 5.0 km · Bayeux 27 km · Deauville 36 km · Lisieux 43 km · Le Havre 48 km · Flers 52 km · Saint-Lô 54 km · Argentan 55 km

France travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / E
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 77% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$48,986
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.3
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 539
Religion
Roman Catholic 47%none 33%Muslim 4%Protestant 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 Caen (49.1859°, -0.3591°, elevation 21 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).