Zarautz weather in December

In December, Zarautz sees average daytime highs of 11°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 134 mm of precipitation across 14.9 wet days and about 8.9 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 11°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 hours at the start of December to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Zarautz's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Zarautz's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11°
10th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
134 mm
14.9 wet days
Daylight
8 h 48 min
8:41 AM – 5:29 PM
Cloud cover
69%
11th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
1.39 kWh/m²
Travel score
2.6
out of 10

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 11°C through the month.

A typical December day in Zarautz reaches about 11°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 2°C cooler than November and on par with January.

10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1128
2128
3128
4128
5128
6128
7128
8128
9127
10127
11127
12127
13127
14127
15117
16117
17117
18117
19117
20117
21117
22117
23117
24117
25117
26117
27117
28117
29117
30117
31117

Zarautz 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
Jan11° / 13315.419.22.3
Feb11° / 12013.91.710.22.4
Mar13° / 11414.20.711.63.4
Apr15° / 12315.90.113.23.7
May17° / 12°11215.3014.54.9
Jun20° / 14°8612.8015.15.8
Jul22° / 16°7712.6014.96.4
Aug23° / 17°7912.3013.86.6
Sep21° / 15°8912.8012.36.0
Oct18° / 13°12214.2010.85.3
Nov14° / 16715.80.19.53.4
Dec11° / 13414.90.58.92.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
22971
32971
42971
53070
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113268
123169
133169
143169
153169
163070
173169
183169
193070
202971
212872
222872
232872
242971
252971
262971
273070
283070
293070
303169
313268

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Zarautz gets around 134 mm of rain and snow over 14.9 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 47% and peaks near 53% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1531
2531
3531
4521
5511
6511
7501
8491
9491
10481
11481
12471
13471
14461
15462
16452
17452
18452
19452
20452
21452
22452
23462
24462
25462
26462
27462
28462
29462
30462
31462

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 15 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 15 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
115light breeze
215light breeze
315light breeze
415light breeze
515light breeze
615light breeze
715light breeze
815light breeze
915light breeze
1015light breeze
1115light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3115light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 hours at the start of December to 8 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 8:28 AM to 8:47 AM, and sunset from 5:29 PM to 5:37 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.08:285:29
29.08:295:29
39.08:305:29
49.08:315:29
58.98:325:28
68.98:335:28
78.98:335:28
88.98:345:28
98.98:355:28
108.98:365:28
118.98:375:28
128.88:385:28
138.88:385:28
148.88:395:29
158.88:405:29
168.88:415:29
178.88:415:29
188.88:425:30
198.88:425:30
208.88:435:30
218.88:445:31
228.88:445:31
238.88:455:32
248.88:455:32
258.88:455:33
268.88:465:33
278.88:465:34
288.88:465:35
298.88:465:35
308.88:475:36
318.88:475:37

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.39 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.39 kWh/m² to a high of 5.87 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 1.39 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.5Dim
21.5Dim
31.4Dim
41.4Dim
51.4Dim
61.4Dim
71.4Dim
81.4Dim
91.4Dim
101.4Dim
111.4Dim
121.4Dim
131.4Dim
141.4Dim
151.4Dim
161.4Dim
171.4Dim
181.4Dim
191.4Dim
201.4Dim
211.4Dim
221.4Dim
231.4Dim
241.4Dim
251.4Dim
261.4Dim
271.4Dim
281.4Dim
291.4Dim
301.4Dim
311.4Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Zarautz?

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

2.6
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Zarautz.

What to pack for Zarautz in December

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

In December, Zarautz sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. About 15 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Zarautz in December

The nearest coast averages about 14°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 12°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 2 to Sep 25 — about 2.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan13Bracing
Feb12Bracing
Mar13Bracing
Apr14Bracing
May16Cool
Jun19Cool
Jul21Refreshing
Aug22Refreshing
Sep21Refreshing
Oct18Cool
Nov16Cool
Dec14Bracing

UV index in Zarautz 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 Zarautz peaks around July 15 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. 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 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb2Low
Mar5Moderate
Apr6High
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep5High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Zarautz?

Zarautz sits at 43.3°N, 2.2°W, 6 m above sea level, in Spain. The nearest listed city is Lasarte, 12 km away.

Topography around Zarautz

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zarautz has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 295 m around an average of 63 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,056 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,533 m.

The land around Zarautz is covered by trees (37%), water (33%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, water (42%) and trees (39%) within 16 km, and trees (46%) and water (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
295 m
16 km
1,056 m
80 km
1,533 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
December weather nearby: Lasarte 12 km · Oria 13 km · Hernani 16 km · San Sebastian 16 km · Tolosa 18 km · Pasaia 20 km · Errenteria 22 km · Eibar 27 km

Spain travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 65% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$38,627
2025
Happiness
6.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 540
Religion
Roman Catholic 58%atheist 16%agnostic 11%non-believer 11%

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 Zarautz (43.2844°, -2.1699°, elevation 6 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).