Erfurt weather in December

In December, Erfurt sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 49 mm of precipitation across 11.6 wet days and about 7.8 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 7th-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 12% 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 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Erfurt's 12th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Erfurt's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
49 mm
11.6 wet days
Daylight
7 h 42 min
8:21 AM – 4:04 PM
Cloud cover
78%
12th clearest
Wind
14 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.64 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Erfurt is city in Erfurt, Germany.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 9.5 µg/m³ · 2019

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 Erfurt reaches about 4°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -2°C and 9°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
150
240
340
440
540
640
740
840
940
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
174-1
184-1
194-1
203-1
213-1
223-1
233-1
243-1
253-1
263-1
273-1
283-1
293-1
303-1
313-1

How December really feels in Erfurt

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.

Erfurt weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°43114.58.20.0
Feb / -1°359.14.39.70.0
Mar / 4711.52.711.51.4
Apr13° / 419.40.413.53.7
May18° / 6311015.35.4
Jun21° / 11°5811.3016.26.1
Jul23° / 13°7011.8015.86.5
Aug23° / 13°6010.6014.36.7
Sep18° / 10°529.4012.45.8
Oct13° / 4610.40.110.43.5
Nov / 4910.41.88.70.9
Dec / -1°4911.63.87.80.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 12% 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 (%)
12179
22278
32179
42179
52080
62179
72179
82080
92080
102080
111981
121981
131981
141981
151783
161783
171783
181783
191783
201783
211783
221783
231783
241783
252080
262080
272080
282179
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Erfurt gets around 49 mm of rain and snow over 11.6 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 37% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 4 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1319
2329
3339
4349
53510
63510
73610
83710
93711
103811
113811
123811
133912
143912
154013
164013
174014
184014
194014
203914
213914
223814
233814
243714
253714
263714
273714
283714
293713
303713
313713

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 14 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
413light breeze
513light breeze
613light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1214light breeze
1314light breeze
1414light breeze
1514light breeze
1614light breeze
1714light breeze
1814light breeze
1914light breeze
2014light breeze
2114light breeze
2214light breeze
2314light breeze
2414light breeze
2514light breeze
2614light breeze
2714light breeze
2814light breeze
2914light breeze
3014light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 hours at the start of December to 7 h 48 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 8:05 AM to 8:26 AM, and sunset from 4:06 PM to 4:12 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.08:054:06
28.08:064:06
38.08:074:05
47.98:094:05
57.98:104:05
67.98:114:04
77.98:124:04
87.88:134:04
97.88:144:04
107.88:154:03
117.88:164:03
127.88:174:03
137.88:184:03
147.78:194:03
157.78:204:03
167.78:214:04
177.78:214:04
187.78:224:04
197.78:234:04
207.78:234:05
217.78:244:05
227.78:244:05
237.78:254:06
247.78:254:06
257.78:254:07
267.78:264:08
277.78:264:08
287.78:264:09
297.78:264:10
307.78:264:11
317.88:264:12

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.64 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.64 kWh/m² to a high of 5.38 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.64 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
70.7Dim
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
260.6Dim
270.6Dim
280.6Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.7Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Erfurt?

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 Erfurt.

What to pack for Erfurt in December

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

In December, Erfurt sees daytime highs around 4°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Erfurt 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 Erfurt 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 22 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Erfurt?

Erfurt sits at 51.0°N, 11.0°E, 194 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Arnstadt, 16 km away.

Topography around Erfurt

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Erfurt has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 159 m around an average of 217 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 364 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 962 m.

The land around Erfurt is covered by artificial surfaces (45%) and trees (36%) within 3 km, cropland (61%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and cropland (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
159 m
16 km
364 m
80 km
962 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Arnstadt 16 km · Weimar 21 km · Sömmerda 21 km · Gotha 24 km · Bad Langensalza 31 km · Ilmenau 34 km · Apolda 34 km · Rudolstadt 36 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 Erfurt (50.9773°, 11.0354°, elevation 194 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).