Cork weather in December

In December, Cork sees average daytime highs of 9°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 84 mm of precipitation across 12.8 wet days and about 7.6 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 2nd-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 11% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 54 min at the start of December to 7 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Cork's 4th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cork's year-round climate.

Daytime high
10th warmest
Overnight low
4th coldest
Precipitation
84 mm
12.8 wet days
Daylight
7 h 36 min
8:43 AM – 4:17 PM
Cloud cover
76%
4th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.6 kWh/m²
Travel score
1.5
out of 10

Cork is city in County Cork, Munster Province, Ireland.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 7.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
6,005/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 Cork reaches about 9°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 5°C and 12°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 2°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
195
295
394
494
594
694
794
894
994
1094
1194
1294
1394
1494
1594
1694
1794
1884
1984
2084
2184
2284
2384
2484
2584
2684
2784
2884
2984
3084
3184

How December really feels in Cork

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 2 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
2
wind chill below the day's low

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

Cork weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 79130.38.11.3
Feb / 64110.59.61.4
Mar10° / 6211.80.311.52.0
Apr12° / 6912.60.113.62.8
May14° / 6713015.43.7
Jun17° / 10°6410.9016.44.9
Jul18° / 12°6711.80165.4
Aug18° / 12°6911.6014.45.4
Sep16° / 10°6410012.44.8
Oct13° / 8512.4010.43.4
Nov10° / 801208.62.2
Dec / 8412.80.27.61.5

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 74%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22872
32872
42773
52773
62773
72773
82773
92773
102674
112674
122674
132674
142674
152674
162674
172674
182575
192575
202575
212575
222575
232575
242674
252674
262674
272674
282674
292674
302773
312773

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Cork gets around 84 mm of rain and snow over 12.8 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 41% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
141
241
341
441
541
640
740
840
940
1040
1140
1240
1340
1440
1540
1640
1740
1841
1941
2041
2141
2241
2342
2442
2542
2643
2743
2843
2943
3043
3143

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, the windiest month of the year.

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
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2516light breeze
2616light breeze
2716light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 54 min at the start of December to 7 h 36 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 8:27 AM to 8:49 AM, and sunset from 4:20 PM to 4:25 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.98:274:20
27.98:294:20
37.88:304:19
47.88:314:18
57.88:324:18
67.78:344:18
77.78:354:17
87.78:364:17
97.78:374:17
107.68:384:17
117.68:394:17
127.68:404:16
137.68:414:16
147.68:424:16
157.68:434:17
167.68:434:17
177.58:444:17
187.58:454:17
197.58:454:17
207.58:464:18
217.58:474:18
227.58:474:19
237.58:484:19
247.58:484:20
257.58:484:20
267.58:494:21
277.58:494:22
287.68:494:22
297.68:494:23
307.68:494:24
317.68:494:25

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.6 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.6 kWh/m² to a high of 5.16 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.6 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
80.6Dim
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 Cork?

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

1.5
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Cork.

What to pack for Cork in December

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

In December, Cork 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 Cork in December

The nearest coast averages about 11°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 31 km away) is warmest in August at about 16°C and coldest in March near 9°C.

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

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan10Bracing
Feb9Bracing
Mar9Bracing
Apr10Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun14Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug16Cool
Sep16Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec11Bracing

UV index in Cork 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 Cork peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Cork?

Cork sits at 51.9°N, 8.5°W, 10 m above sea level, in Ireland. The nearest listed city is Douglas, 4.0 km away.

Cluain MealaKillarneyLimerickTraleeWaterford

Topography around Cork

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cork has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 141 m around an average of 41 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 916 m.

The land around Cork is covered by artificial surfaces (45%), trees (29%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (57%) and water (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
141 m
16 km
272 m
80 km
916 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Douglas 4.0 km · Ballincollig 8.0 km · Carrigaline 11 km · Cluain Meala 73 km · Killarney 73 km · Limerick 86 km · Tralee 94 km · Waterford 101 km

Ireland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 85% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$131,592
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Roman Catholic 69%none 15%Protestant 4%Orthodox 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 Cork (51.898°, -8.4706°, elevation 10 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).