Lucerne weather in December

In December, Lucerne sees average daytime highs of 3°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 131 mm of precipitation across 14.3 wet days and about 8.4 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 3°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 8 h 36 min at the start of December to 8 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Lucerne's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Lucerne's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
131 mm
14.3 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:13 AM – 4:33 PM
Cloud cover
70%
11th clearest
Wind
5 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
1.11 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Lucerne is city at Lake Lucerne, in central Switzerland.

Density
2,806/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 3°C through the month.

A typical December day in Lucerne reaches about 3°C in the afternoon and slips back to -1°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -1°C and 8°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
140
240
340
440
54-1
64-1
74-1
84-1
94-1
104-1
113-1
123-1
133-1
143-1
153-1
163-1
173-1
183-2
193-2
203-2
213-2
223-2
233-2
243-2
253-2
263-2
273-2
283-2
293-2
303-2
313-2

How December really feels in Lucerne

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 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
31
wind chill below the day's low

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

Lucerne weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°11813.711.98.70.0
Feb / -3°11112.610.8100.0
Mar / 12615.110.111.61.2
Apr12° / 13515.27.113.32.6
May16° / 18818.5214.84.0
Jun19° / 11°20018.60.215.64.9
Jul21° / 13°21218.50.115.35.4
Aug21° / 13°21117.70145.4
Sep17° / 10°16615.40.512.44.7
Oct13° / 13013.62.810.63.1
Nov / 13414.17.69.10.8
Dec / -1°13114.311.28.40.0

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 69%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
33070
43169
53169
63268
73268
83367
93367
103367
113268
123268
133268
143268
153268
163268
173169
183169
193070
203070
213070
223169
233169
243169
253268
263268
273268
283367
293466
303466
313367

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Lucerne gets around 131 mm of rain and snow over 14.3 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 46% and peaks near 48% on the wettest days, and about 11 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14430
24431
34432
44432
54433
64533
74534
84535
94535
104536
114636
124636
134637
144737
154737
164737
174737
184737
194737
204737
214737
224837
234837
244837
254837
264837
274838
284838
294838
304838
314738

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 5 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min at the start of December to 8 h 24 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 7:59 AM to 8:19 AM, and sunset from 4:34 PM to 4:41 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.67:594:34
28.68:004:34
38.58:014:33
48.58:024:33
58.58:034:33
68.58:054:33
78.48:064:32
88.48:074:32
98.48:074:32
108.48:084:32
118.48:094:32
128.48:104:32
138.48:114:32
148.38:124:32
158.38:134:32
168.38:134:33
178.38:144:33
188.38:154:33
198.38:154:33
208.38:164:34
218.38:164:34
228.38:174:35
238.38:174:35
248.38:184:36
258.38:184:36
268.38:184:37
278.38:194:38
288.38:194:38
298.38:194:39
308.38:194:40
318.48:194:41

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.11 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.11 kWh/m² to a high of 5.55 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 1.11 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.2Dim
51.2Dim
61.2Dim
71.2Dim
81.1Dim
91.1Dim
101.1Dim
111.1Dim
121.1Dim
131.1Dim
141.1Dim
151.1Dim
161.1Dim
171.1Dim
181.1Dim
191.1Dim
201.1Dim
211.1Dim
221.1Dim
231.1Dim
241.1Dim
251.1Dim
261.1Dim
271.1Dim
281.1Dim
291.1Dim
301.1Dim
311.1Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Lucerne?

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

0.0
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Lucerne.

What to pack for Lucerne in December

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

In December, Lucerne sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Lucerne?

Lucerne sits at 47.1°N, 8.3°E, 437 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Kriens, 3.0 km away.

ZugBaarSchwyzHorgen

Topography around Lucerne

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lucerne has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 349 m around an average of 484 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,696 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,854 m.

The land around Lucerne is covered by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 3 km, trees (38%) and grassland (34%) within 16 km, and trees (40%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
349 m
16 km
1,696 m
80 km
3,854 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Kriens 3.0 km · Littau 3.0 km · Emmen 4.0 km · Cham 19 km · Zug 21 km · Baar 23 km · Schwyz 27 km · Horgen 32 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 6%

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 Lucerne (47.0505°, 8.3064°, elevation 437 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).