Cradock weather in December

In December, Cradock sees average daytime highs of 27°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 73 mm of rain across 10.3 wet days and about 14.1 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°C in the first days to 28°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 hours at the start of December to 14 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Cradock's 8th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Cradock's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 27°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 73 mm; 10.3 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 06 min; 5:11 AM – 7:17 PM
Cloud cover: 44%; 8th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 7.56 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.7; out of 10

Cradock is town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.

Founded: 1816

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

← November Cradock 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

Highs climb over the month, from about 26°C in the first days to 28°C by the end.

A typical December day in Cradock reaches about 27°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 14°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 21°C and 33°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)	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28
Avg low (°C)	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

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

How December really feels in Cradock

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Cradock weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 3rd-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	28° / 15°	95	12.2	13.9	6.4
Feb	27° / 15°	88	12	13.2	6.2
Mar	26° / 13°	84	10.6	12.2	6.9
Apr	23° / 10°	45	7.5	11.2	7.4
May	20° / 7°	20	4.3	10.4	7.5
Jun	17° / 4°	17	3.5	9.9	6.6
Jul	17° / 3°	17	3	10.1	6.7
Aug	18° / 5°	20	4.2	10.8	7.3
Sep	22° / 7°	25	3.8	11.8	7.9
Oct	24° / 9°	44	7.4	12.8	7.6
Nov	25° / 11°	59	8.7	13.6	7.2
Dec	27° / 13°	73	10.3	14.1	6.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 48% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 32%.

	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 (%)	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	64	65	65	67	67	67	68	69	70	70	70	71	71	71	71	72	72	72	72	71	71	71	70	70
Cloudier (%)	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	33	33	33	32	31	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	30	30

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	64	36
5	64	36
6	64	36
7	64	36
8	64	36
9	65	35
10	65	35
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	70	30
19	71	29
20	71	29
21	71	29
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	70	30
31	70	30

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Cradock gets around 73 mm of rain over 10.3 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 34% and peaks near 36% 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 (%)	31	31	31	32	32	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	36	36

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	31
3	31
4	32
5	32
6	33
7	33
8	33
9	33
10	33
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	34
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

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 76% 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 (%)	87	86	86	85	84	84	83	83	82	82	81	80	79	79	78	77	76	76	75	74	73	72	71	70	69	68	66	66	64	63	63
Comfortable (%)	12	13	13	14	15	15	16	16	17	17	18	18	19	19	20	20	21	21	22	22	23	23	24	25	25	26	27	27	28	29	29
Humid (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	7	7	8	8	8

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	87	12	1
2	86	13	1
3	86	13	1
4	85	14	1
5	84	15	1
6	84	15	1
7	83	16	1
8	83	16	1
9	82	17	1
10	82	17	1
11	81	18	1
12	80	18	2
13	79	19	2
14	79	19	2
15	78	20	2
16	77	20	3
17	76	21	3
18	76	21	3
19	75	22	3
20	74	22	4
21	73	23	4
22	72	23	5
23	71	24	5
24	70	25	5
25	69	25	6
26	68	26	6
27	66	27	7
28	66	27	7
29	64	28	8
30	63	29	8
31	63	29	8

Wind in December

Winds average 11 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
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	11	calm
2	11	calm
3	11	calm
4	11	calm
5	11	calm
6	11	calm
7	11	calm
8	11	calm
9	11	calm
10	11	calm
11	11	calm
12	11	calm
13	11	calm
14	11	calm
15	11	calm
16	11	calm
17	11	calm
18	11	calm
19	11	calm
20	11	calm
21	11	calm
22	11	calm
23	11	calm
24	11	calm
25	10	calm
26	10	calm
27	10	calm
28	10	calm
29	10	calm
30	10	calm
31	10	calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 hours at the start of December to 14 h 06 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 5:09 AM to 5:18 AM, and sunset from 7:06 PM to 7:23 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)	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.0	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:09	5:10	5:10	5:10	5:10	5:11	5:11	5:11	5:12	5:12	5:13	5:13	5:14	5:14	5:15	5:15	5:16	5:16	5:17	5:18	5:18
Sunset (PM)	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:11	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:15	7:16	7:17	7:17	7:18	7:18	7:19	7:19	7:20	7:20	7:21	7:21	7:21	7:22	7:22	7:23	7:23	7:23

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.0	5:09	7:06
2	14.0	5:09	7:07
3	14.0	5:09	7:08
4	14.0	5:09	7:08
5	14.0	5:09	7:09
6	14.0	5:09	7:10
7	14.0	5:09	7:11
8	14.0	5:09	7:11
9	14.0	5:09	7:12
10	14.1	5:09	7:13
11	14.1	5:09	7:13
12	14.1	5:10	7:14
13	14.1	5:10	7:15
14	14.1	5:10	7:15
15	14.1	5:10	7:16
16	14.1	5:11	7:17
17	14.1	5:11	7:17
18	14.1	5:11	7:18
19	14.1	5:12	7:18
20	14.1	5:12	7:19
21	14.1	5:13	7:19
22	14.1	5:13	7:20
23	14.1	5:14	7:20
24	14.1	5:14	7:21
25	14.1	5:15	7:21
26	14.1	5:15	7:21
27	14.1	5:16	7:22
28	14.1	5:16	7:22
29	14.1	5:17	7:23
30	14.1	5:18	7:23
31	14.1	5:18	7:23

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 7.56 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.08 kWh/m² to a high of 7.56 kWh/m² in December across the year — December's 7.56 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)	7.4	7.4	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.6	7.5	7.5	7.5	7.5
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	7.4	Intense
2	7.4	Intense
3	7.5	Intense
4	7.5	Intense
5	7.5	Intense
6	7.5	Intense
7	7.5	Intense
8	7.5	Intense
9	7.5	Intense
10	7.5	Intense
11	7.5	Intense
12	7.5	Intense
13	7.5	Intense
14	7.6	Intense
15	7.6	Intense
16	7.6	Intense
17	7.6	Intense
18	7.6	Intense
19	7.6	Intense
20	7.6	Intense
21	7.6	Intense
22	7.6	Intense
23	7.6	Intense
24	7.6	Intense
25	7.6	Intense
26	7.6	Intense
27	7.6	Intense
28	7.5	Intense
29	7.5	Intense
30	7.5	Intense
31	7.5	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Cradock

In seasonPeak

In December, Cradock sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Cradock's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is December a good time to visit Cradock?

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

6.7

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

6.8

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Cradock for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Cradock in December

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

In December, Cradock sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 13°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

light clothessun protectionrain gear

UV index in Cradock in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cradock peaks around January 14 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 22 at about 4 (moderate).

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)	15	12	10	7	5	4	4	5	7	11	12	13
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	15	Extreme
Feb	12	Extreme
Mar	10	Extreme
Apr	7	High
May	5	Moderate
Jun	4	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	5	High
Sep	7	High
Oct	11	Extreme
Nov	12	Extreme
Dec	13	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Cradock?

Cradock sits at 32.2°S, 25.6°E, 896 m above sea level, in South Africa. The nearest listed city is Somerset East, 62 km away.

Topography around Cradock

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Cradock has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m around an average of 915 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,015 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,857 m.

The land around Cradock is covered by grassland (57%) within 3 km, grassland (66%) and shrubs (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (76%) within 80 km.

3 km

157 m

grassland 57%

16 km

1,015 m

grassland 66%

80 km

1,857 m

grassland 76%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain

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

December weather nearby: Somerset East 62 km · Middelburg 94 km · Graaff Reinet 103 km · Whittlesea 113 km · Fort Beaufort 117 km · Queenstown 122 km · Queensdale 132 km · Alice 133 km

South Africa travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type C / M / N; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 41% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $6,598; 2025
Happiness: 5.0 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 68%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 43.7; per 100k, 2022
Road deaths: 22.2; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Very high; EF EPI 602
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 Cradock (-32.1642°, 25.6192°, elevation 896 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).

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	64	36
5	64	36
6	64	36
7	64	36
8	64	36
9	65	35
10	65	35
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	70	30
19	71	29
20	71	29
21	71	29
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	31
3	31
4	32
5	32
6	33
7	33
8	33
9	33
10	33
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	34
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	87	12	1
2	86	13	1
3	86	13	1
4	85	14	1
5	84	15	1
6	84	15	1
7	83	16	1
8	83	16	1
9	82	17	1
10	82	17	1
11	81	18	1
12	80	18	2
13	79	19	2
14	79	19	2
15	78	20	2
16	77	20	3
17	76	21	3
18	76	21	3
19	75	22	3
20	74	22	4
21	73	23	4
22	72	23	5
23	71	24	5
24	70	25	5
25	69	25	6
26	68	26	6
27	66	27	7
28	66	27	7
29	64	28	8
30	63	29	8
31	63	29	8

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	64	36
5	64	36
6	64	36
7	64	36
8	64	36
9	65	35
10	65	35
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	70	30
19	71	29
20	71	29
21	71	29
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	31
3	31
4	32
5	32
6	33
7	33
8	33
9	33
10	33
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	34
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	87	12	1
2	86	13	1
3	86	13	1
4	85	14	1
5	84	15	1
6	84	15	1
7	83	16	1
8	83	16	1
9	82	17	1
10	82	17	1
11	81	18	1
12	80	18	2
13	79	19	2
14	79	19	2
15	78	20	2
16	77	20	3
17	76	21	3
18	76	21	3
19	75	22	3
20	74	22	4
21	73	23	4
22	72	23	5
23	71	24	5
24	70	25	5
25	69	25	6
26	68	26	6
27	66	27	7
28	66	27	7
29	64	28	8
30	63	29	8
31	63	29	8

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	64	36
2	64	36
3	64	36
4	64	36
5	64	36
6	64	36
7	64	36
8	64	36
9	65	35
10	65	35
11	67	33
12	67	33
13	67	33
14	68	32
15	69	31
16	70	30
17	70	30
18	70	30
19	71	29
20	71	29
21	71	29
22	71	29
23	72	28
24	72	28
25	72	28
26	72	28
27	71	29
28	71	29
29	71	29
30	70	30
31	70	30

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	31
3	31
4	32
5	32
6	33
7	33
8	33
9	33
10	33
11	34
12	34
13	34
14	34
15	34
16	34
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	34
24	34
25	34
26	34
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	87	12	1
2	86	13	1
3	86	13	1
4	85	14	1
5	84	15	1
6	84	15	1
7	83	16	1
8	83	16	1
9	82	17	1
10	82	17	1
11	81	18	1
12	80	18	2
13	79	19	2
14	79	19	2
15	78	20	2
16	77	20	3
17	76	21	3
18	76	21	3
19	75	22	3
20	74	22	4
21	73	23	4
22	72	23	5
23	71	24	5
24	70	25	5
25	69	25	6
26	68	26	6
27	66	27	7
28	66	27	7
29	64	28	8
30	63	29	8
31	63	29	8