Picton weather in December

In December, Picton sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 75 mm of rain across 10.4 wet days and about 14.9 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 19°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 48 min at the start of December to 14 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Picton's 12th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Picton's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 75 mm; 10.4 wet days
Daylight: 15 hours; 5:51 AM – 8:49 PM
Cloud cover: 60%; 12th clearest
Wind: 18 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 7.27 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.0; out of 10

Picton is town in New Zealand.

Density: 144/km²; people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← November Picton 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 19°C through the month.

A typical December day in Picton reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 2°C warmer than November and about 1°C cooler than 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)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20
Avg low (°C)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13

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

Picton weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 4th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 14°	60	7.4	14.6	6.8
Feb	20° / 14°	52	5.7	13.7	7.1
Mar	19° / 13°	58	7.1	12.3	6.7
Apr	17° / 11°	78	8.2	10.9	5.6
May	14° / 9°	75	8.5	9.7	4.5
Jun	12° / 7°	91	9.7	9.1	3.3
Jul	11° / 6°	83	10.1	9.3	2.9
Aug	12° / 6°	79	10.8	10.3	3.2
Sep	14° / 8°	77	10.1	11.7	3.9
Oct	15° / 9°	89	11.3	13.1	4.5
Nov	17° / 11°	73	9.5	14.3	5.5
Dec	19° / 13°	75	10.4	14.9	6.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 28% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 54%.

	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 (%)	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	43	43	43	44	43	43	45	45	45	46	46	47	47	48	48	49	50	50	50	51	51	52	52
Cloudier (%)	55	56	56	56	57	57	57	57	57	57	57	56	57	57	55	55	55	54	54	53	53	52	52	51	50	50	50	49	49	48	48

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	44	56
3	44	56
4	44	56
5	43	57
6	43	57
7	43	57
8	43	57
9	43	57
10	43	57
11	43	57
12	44	56
13	43	57
14	43	57
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	45	55
18	46	54
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	52	48
31	52	48

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Picton gets around 75 mm of rain over 10.4 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 33% and peaks near 35% 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 (%)	33	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	34	34	33	33	32	31	30	30	29	28	28

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	33
3	33
4	33
5	33
6	33
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	35
18	35
19	35
20	35
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	31
27	30
28	30
29	29
30	28
31	28

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 70% 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 (%)	79	79	77	76	75	74	73	73	72	71	71	70	70	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	68	68	68	67	67	67	67	67	66	65	64
Comfortable (%)	19	19	20	21	22	23	24	24	25	26	26	27	27	28	28	28	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	30	30	31
Humid (%)	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	19	2
2	79	19	2
3	77	20	3
4	76	21	3
5	75	22	3
6	74	23	3
7	73	24	3
8	73	24	3
9	72	25	3
10	71	26	3
11	71	26	3
12	70	27	3
13	70	27	3
14	69	28	3
15	69	28	3
16	69	28	3
17	68	29	3
18	68	29	3
19	68	29	3
20	68	29	3
21	68	29	3
22	68	29	3
23	68	29	3
24	67	29	4
25	67	29	4
26	67	29	4
27	67	29	4
28	67	29	4
29	66	30	4
30	65	30	5
31	64	31	5

Wind in December

Winds average 18 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 18 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)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 48 min at the start of December to 14 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:51 AM to 5:59 AM, and sunset from 8:37 PM to 8:55 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)	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	15.0	14.9
Sunrise (AM)	5:51	5:51	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:52	5:53	5:53	5:53	5:54	5:54	5:55	5:56	5:56	5:57	5:57	5:58	5:59
Sunset (PM)	8:37	8:38	8:38	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:46	8:47	8:48	8:48	8:49	8:50	8:50	8:51	8:51	8:52	8:52	8:53	8:53	8:54	8:54	8:54	8:55	8:55	8:55	8:55

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.8	5:51	8:37
2	14.8	5:51	8:38
3	14.8	5:50	8:38
4	14.8	5:50	8:39
5	14.8	5:50	8:40
6	14.9	5:50	8:41
7	14.9	5:50	8:42
8	14.9	5:50	8:43
9	14.9	5:50	8:44
10	14.9	5:50	8:45
11	14.9	5:50	8:46
12	14.9	5:50	8:46
13	14.9	5:50	8:47
14	15.0	5:51	8:48
15	15.0	5:51	8:48
16	15.0	5:51	8:49
17	15.0	5:51	8:50
18	15.0	5:52	8:50
19	15.0	5:52	8:51
20	15.0	5:53	8:51
21	15.0	5:53	8:52
22	15.0	5:53	8:52
23	15.0	5:54	8:53
24	15.0	5:54	8:53
25	15.0	5:55	8:54
26	15.0	5:56	8:54
27	15.0	5:56	8:54
28	15.0	5:57	8:55
29	15.0	5:57	8:55
30	15.0	5:58	8:55
31	14.9	5:59	8:55

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 7.27 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.7 kWh/m² to a high of 7.55 kWh/m² in January across the year — December's 7.27 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.2	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.4	7.4	7.5	7.5	7.6	7.7	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.8	7.9	7.9	7.9
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	7.1	Intense
2	7.1	Intense
3	7.1	Intense
4	7.1	Intense
5	7.1	Intense
6	7.1	Intense
7	7.1	Intense
8	7.1	Intense
9	7.1	Intense
10	7.2	Intense
11	7.2	Intense
12	7.2	Intense
13	7.2	Intense
14	7.2	Intense
15	7.3	Intense
16	7.3	Intense
17	7.3	Intense
18	7.3	Intense
19	7.4	Intense
20	7.4	Intense
21	7.5	Intense
22	7.5	Intense
23	7.6	Intense
24	7.7	Intense
25	7.7	Intense
26	7.8	Intense
27	7.8	Intense
28	7.8	Intense
29	7.9	Intense
30	7.9	Intense
31	7.9	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Picton?

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

6.0

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

2.4

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Picton for sightseeing.

What to pack for Picton in December

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

In December, Picton sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 13°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

Sea temperature near Picton in December

The nearest coast averages about 15°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 14 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 12°C.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	16	17	16	15	14	13	12	12	12	13	14	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	16	Cool
Feb	17	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	15	Cool
May	14	Bracing
Jun	13	Bracing
Jul	12	Bracing
Aug	12	Bracing
Sep	12	Bracing
Oct	13	Bracing
Nov	14	Bracing
Dec	15	Bracing

UV index in Picton in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Picton peaks around January 1 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	10	6	4	2	1	2	3	4	6	9	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	6	High
Apr	4	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Picton?

Picton sits at 41.3°S, 174.0°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Blenheim, 25 km away.

Topography around Picton

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Picton has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 675 m around an average of 157 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,051 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,066 m.

The land around Picton is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (60%) and water (31%) within 16 km, and water (57%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

675 m

trees 79%

16 km

1,051 m

trees 60%

80 km

2,066 m

water 57%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater

← November Picton year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Blenheim 25 km · Nelson 61 km · Karori 61 km · Wellington 64 km · Stoke 65 km · Richmond 69 km · Porirua 73 km · Lower Hutt 76 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type I; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 86% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $49,591; 2025
Happiness: 7.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 9.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
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 Picton (-41.2907°, 174.008°, elevation 0 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	44	56
3	44	56
4	44	56
5	43	57
6	43	57
7	43	57
8	43	57
9	43	57
10	43	57
11	43	57
12	44	56
13	43	57
14	43	57
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	45	55
18	46	54
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	33
3	33
4	33
5	33
6	33
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	35
18	35
19	35
20	35
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	31
27	30
28	30
29	29
30	28
31	28

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	19	2
2	79	19	2
3	77	20	3
4	76	21	3
5	75	22	3
6	74	23	3
7	73	24	3
8	73	24	3
9	72	25	3
10	71	26	3
11	71	26	3
12	70	27	3
13	70	27	3
14	69	28	3
15	69	28	3
16	69	28	3
17	68	29	3
18	68	29	3
19	68	29	3
20	68	29	3
21	68	29	3
22	68	29	3
23	68	29	3
24	67	29	4
25	67	29	4
26	67	29	4
27	67	29	4
28	67	29	4
29	66	30	4
30	65	30	5
31	64	31	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	44	56
3	44	56
4	44	56
5	43	57
6	43	57
7	43	57
8	43	57
9	43	57
10	43	57
11	43	57
12	44	56
13	43	57
14	43	57
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	45	55
18	46	54
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	33
3	33
4	33
5	33
6	33
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	35
18	35
19	35
20	35
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	31
27	30
28	30
29	29
30	28
31	28

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	19	2
2	79	19	2
3	77	20	3
4	76	21	3
5	75	22	3
6	74	23	3
7	73	24	3
8	73	24	3
9	72	25	3
10	71	26	3
11	71	26	3
12	70	27	3
13	70	27	3
14	69	28	3
15	69	28	3
16	69	28	3
17	68	29	3
18	68	29	3
19	68	29	3
20	68	29	3
21	68	29	3
22	68	29	3
23	68	29	3
24	67	29	4
25	67	29	4
26	67	29	4
27	67	29	4
28	67	29	4
29	66	30	4
30	65	30	5
31	64	31	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	45	55
2	44	56
3	44	56
4	44	56
5	43	57
6	43	57
7	43	57
8	43	57
9	43	57
10	43	57
11	43	57
12	44	56
13	43	57
14	43	57
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	45	55
18	46	54
19	46	54
20	47	53
21	47	53
22	48	52
23	48	52
24	49	51
25	50	50
26	50	50
27	50	50
28	51	49
29	51	49
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)
1	33
2	33
3	33
4	33
5	33
6	33
7	34
8	34
9	34
10	34
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	35
18	35
19	35
20	35
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	31
27	30
28	30
29	29
30	28
31	28

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	79	19	2
2	79	19	2
3	77	20	3
4	76	21	3
5	75	22	3
6	74	23	3
7	73	24	3
8	73	24	3
9	72	25	3
10	71	26	3
11	71	26	3
12	70	27	3
13	70	27	3
14	69	28	3
15	69	28	3
16	69	28	3
17	68	29	3
18	68	29	3
19	68	29	3
20	68	29	3
21	68	29	3
22	68	29	3
23	68	29	3
24	67	29	4
25	67	29	4
26	67	29	4
27	67	29	4
28	67	29	4
29	66	30	4
30	65	30	5
31	64	31	5