Altena weather in December

In December, Altena sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near 0°C, with 106 mm of precipitation across 16.3 wet days and about 7.7 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 8 hours at the start of December to 7 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Altena's 12th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Altena's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
106 mm
16.3 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
8:36 AM – 4:15 PM
Cloud cover
79%
12th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.59 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Altena is settlement in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

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 4°C through the month.

A typical December day in Altena reaches about 4°C in the afternoon and slips back to 0°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -1°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 1°C warmer than January.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
151
251
351
451
551
641
741
841
941
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
1740
1840
1940
2040
2140
2240
2340
2440
2540
2640
2740
2840
2940
3030
3130

How December really feels in Altena

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
wind chill below the day's low

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

Altena weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -1°10315.56.18.20.0
Feb / -1°8513.16.69.60.0
Mar / 8814.73.911.51.2
Apr13° / 6812.51.113.53.2
May17° / 8213.7015.34.7
Jun19° / 11°8814.4016.35.4
Jul21° / 13°10515.7015.95.7
Aug21° / 13°9914.9014.45.7
Sep17° / 10°8713.3012.44.9
Oct12° / 8713.50.110.43.0
Nov / 8914.82.38.60.8
Dec / 10616.36.27.70.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 81%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12080
22080
32080
42179
52179
62179
72080
82080
92080
102080
112080
122080
132080
141981
151981
162080
171981
181882
191882
201882
211783
221783
231684
241783
251783
261783
271783
281783
291783
301783
311882

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Altena gets around 106 mm of rain and snow over 16.3 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 52% and peaks near 56% on the wettest days, and about 6 days bring snow. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14415
24515
34515
44616
54716
64716
74817
84917
94918
105019
115019
125120
135120
145220
155220
165320
175321
185421
195421
205521
215521
225522
235522
245622
255622
265622
275621
285621
295620
305620
315619

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 16 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 15 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
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2616light breeze
2716light breeze
2816light breeze
2916light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 hours at the start of December to 7 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 18 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:20 AM to 8:42 AM, and sunset from 4:18 PM to 4:23 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.08:204:18
27.98:214:18
37.98:224:17
47.98:244:17
57.98:254:17
67.88:264:16
77.88:274:16
87.88:284:16
97.88:294:15
107.78:304:15
117.78:314:15
127.78:324:15
137.78:334:15
147.78:344:15
157.78:354:15
167.78:364:15
177.78:364:16
187.68:374:16
197.68:384:16
207.68:384:16
217.68:394:17
227.68:394:17
237.68:404:18
247.68:404:18
257.68:404:19
267.68:414:20
277.78:414:20
287.78:414:21
297.78:414:22
307.78:414:23
317.78:424:23

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.59 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.59 kWh/m² to a high of 5.21 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.59 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.7Dim
20.7Dim
30.7Dim
40.7Dim
50.7Dim
60.7Dim
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
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
260.6Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.6Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Altena?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Altena.

What to pack for Altena in December

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

In December, Altena sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near 0°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 16 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in Altena 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 Altena peaks around July 14 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 14UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Altena?

Altena sits at 51.3°N, 7.7°E, 167 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Werdohl, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Altena

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Altena has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 340 m around an average of 328 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 547 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 861 m.

The land around Altena is covered by trees (78%) within 3 km, trees (67%) within 16 km, and trees (52%) and cropland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
340 m
16 km
547 m
80 km
861 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Werdohl 8.0 km · Lüdenscheid 9.0 km · Iserlohn 9.0 km · Hemer 12 km · Hagen 16 km · Plettenberg 17 km · Halver 17 km · Menden 18 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 80% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,496
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 615
Religion
none 44%Roman Catholic 25%Protestant 23%other 5%

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 Altena (51.2947°, 7.6734°, elevation 167 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).