Santa Cruz del Quiché weather in December

In December, Santa Cruz del Quiché sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 17 mm of rain across 3.7 wet days and about 11.1 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 20°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of December to 11 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Santa Cruz del Quiché's 4th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Santa Cruz del Quiché's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 12th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 3rd coldest
Rainfall: 17 mm; 3.7 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 06 min; 6:27 AM – 5:34 PM
Cloud cover: 45%; 4th clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 4.74 kWh/m²
Travel score: 7.3; out of 10

← November Santa Cruz del Quiché year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 20°C through the month.

A typical December day in Santa Cruz del Quiché reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 10°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 17°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs on par with November and on par with January.

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

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

Santa Cruz del Quiché weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 12th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 9°	9	2.8	11.2	7.6
Feb	21° / 9°	8	2.3	11.5	8.1
Mar	23° / 10°	23	5.1	11.9	8.0
Apr	24° / 11°	60	10	12.3	7.0
May	23° / 12°	175	19.4	12.7	5.1
Jun	21° / 13°	281	25.8	12.9	3.9
Jul	21° / 12°	153	21.1	12.8	4.6
Aug	21° / 12°	186	22.9	12.5	4.4
Sep	21° / 12°	264	26.5	12.1	3.8
Oct	20° / 12°	183	20.7	11.7	4.6
Nov	20° / 11°	42	8.2	11.3	6.4
Dec	20° / 9°	17	3.7	11.1	7.3

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 42% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 25% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 33%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	59	60	61	63	64	65	67	67	68	68	68	68	68	68	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	69
Cloudier (%)	41	40	39	37	36	35	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31	31

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	60	40
3	61	39
4	63	37
5	64	36
6	65	35
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	69	31
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Santa Cruz del Quiché gets around 17 mm of rain over 3.7 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 12% and peaks near 14% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	14	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11

	Rain chance (%)
1	14
2	13
3	13
4	12
5	12
6	12
7	12
8	12
9	12
10	12
11	12
12	12
13	13
14	13
15	13
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	13
20	13
21	12
22	12
23	12
24	12
25	12
26	12
27	12
28	11
29	11
30	11
31	11

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 98% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	96	97	97	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	100	100	100	100	100	100
Comfortable (%)	4	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	96	4
2	97	3
3	97	3
4	97	3
5	97	3
6	97	3
7	98	2
8	98	2
9	98	2
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

Wind in December

Winds average 6 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of December to 11 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 6:19 AM to 6:34 AM, and sunset from 5:30 PM to 5:41 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1	11.1
Sunrise (AM)	6:19	6:20	6:20	6:21	6:21	6:22	6:22	6:23	6:24	6:24	6:25	6:25	6:26	6:26	6:27	6:27	6:28	6:28	6:29	6:29	6:30	6:30	6:31	6:31	6:32	6:32	6:33	6:33	6:33	6:34	6:34
Sunset (PM)	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:30	5:31	5:31	5:31	5:32	5:32	5:32	5:33	5:33	5:33	5:34	5:34	5:35	5:35	5:35	5:36	5:36	5:37	5:37	5:38	5:38	5:39	5:39	5:40	5:40	5:41	5:41

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.2	6:19	5:30
2	11.2	6:20	5:30
3	11.2	6:20	5:30
4	11.2	6:21	5:30
5	11.2	6:21	5:30
6	11.1	6:22	5:31
7	11.1	6:22	5:31
8	11.1	6:23	5:31
9	11.1	6:24	5:32
10	11.1	6:24	5:32
11	11.1	6:25	5:32
12	11.1	6:25	5:33
13	11.1	6:26	5:33
14	11.1	6:26	5:33
15	11.1	6:27	5:34
16	11.1	6:27	5:34
17	11.1	6:28	5:35
18	11.1	6:28	5:35
19	11.1	6:29	5:35
20	11.1	6:29	5:36
21	11.1	6:30	5:36
22	11.1	6:30	5:37
23	11.1	6:31	5:37
24	11.1	6:31	5:38
25	11.1	6:32	5:38
26	11.1	6:32	5:39
27	11.1	6:33	5:39
28	11.1	6:33	5:40
29	11.1	6:33	5:40
30	11.1	6:34	5:41
31	11.1	6:34	5:41

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 4.74 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.56 kWh/m² to a high of 6.51 kWh/m² in April across the year — December's 4.74 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.8
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.7	Bright
2	4.7	Bright
3	4.7	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.7	Bright
6	4.7	Bright
7	4.7	Bright
8	4.7	Bright
9	4.7	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.7	Bright
13	4.7	Bright
14	4.7	Bright
15	4.7	Bright
16	4.7	Bright
17	4.7	Bright
18	4.7	Bright
19	4.7	Bright
20	4.7	Bright
21	4.7	Bright
22	4.7	Bright
23	4.8	Bright
24	4.8	Bright
25	4.8	Bright
26	4.8	Bright
27	4.8	Bright
28	4.8	Bright
29	4.8	Bright
30	4.8	Bright
31	4.8	Bright

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Santa Cruz del Quiché

In seasonPeak

None of Santa Cruz del Quiché's seasonal hazards are active in December. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do peak.

Santa Cruz del Quiché's monsoon runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Santa Cruz del Quiché?

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

7.3

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

3.5

Beach & pool

6th-best month of the year

December is one of the better times to visit Santa Cruz del Quiché for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Santa Cruz del Quiché in December

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

In December, Santa Cruz del Quiché sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: sun protection. About 4 days see rain.

sun protection

UV index in Santa Cruz del Quiché in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 9 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Santa Cruz del Quiché peaks around April 13 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 9 (very high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	10	14	14	15	13	14	14	14	13	12	10	9
Level	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	10	Very high
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	15	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	14	Extreme
Jul	14	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	10	Very high
Dec	9	Very high

Air quality in Santa Cruz del Quiché in December

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where December falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Santa Cruz del Quiché is worst in May — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	23	22	25	34	34	23	23	22	23	23	23	25
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	23	Moderate
Feb	22	Moderate
Mar	25	Moderate
Apr	34	Moderate
May	34	Moderate
Jun	23	Moderate
Jul	23	Moderate
Aug	22	Moderate
Sep	23	Moderate
Oct	23	Moderate
Nov	23	Moderate
Dec	25	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Santa Cruz del Quiché?

Santa Cruz del Quiché sits at 15.0°N, 91.1°W, 1,979 m above sea level, in Guatemala. The nearest listed city is Chichicastenango, 10 km away.

Topography around Santa Cruz del Quiché

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Santa Cruz del Quiché.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz del Quiché has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 299 m around an average of 2,014 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,428 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,872 m.

The land around Santa Cruz del Quiché is covered by trees (41%), cropland (23%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, trees (69%) within 16 km, and trees (79%) within 80 km.

3 km

299 m

trees 41%

16 km

1,428 m

trees 69%

80 km

3,872 m

trees 79%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← November Santa Cruz del Quiché year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Chichicastenango 10 km · Totonicapán 26 km · Nahualá 28 km · Momostenango 28 km · Sololá 29 km · Panajachel 32 km · San Francisco El Alto 33 km · Tecpán Guatemala 34 km

Guatemala travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 3; Reconsider Travel
Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 43% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $6,598; 2025
Happiness: 6.5 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 49%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 23.4; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 22.9; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 510
Religion

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 Santa Cruz del Quiché (15.0299°, -91.1488°, elevation 1,979 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	60	40
3	61	39
4	63	37
5	64	36
6	65	35
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	69	31
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	14
2	13
3	13
4	12
5	12
6	12
7	12
8	12
9	12
10	12
11	12
12	12
13	13
14	13
15	13
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	13
20	13
21	12
22	12
23	12
24	12
25	12
26	12
27	12
28	11
29	11
30	11
31	11

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	96	4
2	97	3
3	97	3
4	97	3
5	97	3
6	97	3
7	98	2
8	98	2
9	98	2
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	60	40
3	61	39
4	63	37
5	64	36
6	65	35
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	69	31
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	14
2	13
3	13
4	12
5	12
6	12
7	12
8	12
9	12
10	12
11	12
12	12
13	13
14	13
15	13
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	13
20	13
21	12
22	12
23	12
24	12
25	12
26	12
27	12
28	11
29	11
30	11
31	11

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	96	4
2	97	3
3	97	3
4	97	3
5	97	3
6	97	3
7	98	2
8	98	2
9	98	2
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	59	41
2	60	40
3	61	39
4	63	37
5	64	36
6	65	35
7	67	33
8	67	33
9	68	32
10	68	32
11	68	32
12	68	32
13	68	32
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	69	31
17	69	31
18	69	31
19	69	31
20	69	31
21	69	31
22	69	31
23	69	31
24	69	31
25	69	31
26	69	31
27	69	31
28	69	31
29	69	31
30	69	31
31	69	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	14
2	13
3	13
4	12
5	12
6	12
7	12
8	12
9	12
10	12
11	12
12	12
13	13
14	13
15	13
16	13
17	13
18	13
19	13
20	13
21	12
22	12
23	12
24	12
25	12
26	12
27	12
28	11
29	11
30	11
31	11

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	96	4
2	97	3
3	97	3
4	97	3
5	97	3
6	97	3
7	98	2
8	98	2
9	98	2
10	98	2
11	98	2
12	98	2
13	98	2
14	98	2
15	98	2
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	99	1
23	99	1
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	100	0
27	100	0
28	100	0
29	100	0
30	100	0
31	100	0