Rapperswil weather in December

In December, Rapperswil sees average daytime highs of 4°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 119 mm of precipitation across 14.3 wet days and about 8.4 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 4°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% 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 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Rapperswil's 10th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rapperswil's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
-1°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
119 mm
14.3 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
8:12 AM – 4:30 PM
Cloud cover
65%
10th clearest
Wind
7 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
1.08 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Rapperswil is former town in the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Air quality
Excellent
PM10 12.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Founded
1220

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 4°C through the month.

A typical December day in Rapperswil reaches about 4°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 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-10°-5°10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
150
240
34-1
44-1
54-1
64-1
74-1
84-1
94-1
104-1
114-1
124-1
134-1
144-1
154-1
164-2
173-2
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 Rapperswil

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.

Rapperswil weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°10412.8108.70.0
Feb / -3°94129.8100.0
Mar / 11014.88.511.61.4
Apr13° / 11615.15.513.32.9
May17° / 16418.11.214.84.3
Jun20° / 11°16817.50.115.65.2
Jul22° / 13°15716.6015.35.8
Aug22° / 13°16515.20145.9
Sep18° / 10°13413.50.312.45.1
Oct13° / 10812.82.210.63.4
Nov / 11513.16.39.10.9
Dec / -1°11914.39.78.40.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 25% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 62%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13565
23664
33664
43664
53763
63664
73664
83763
93763
103763
113763
123763
133763
143862
153862
163862
173862
183763
193862
203862
213862
223862
233862
243961
253961
263961
273961
284060
294159
304060
314060

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Rapperswil gets around 119 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 10 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14226
24326
34326
44327
54427
64428
74428
84529
94530
104530
114631
124632
134632
144732
154732
164732
174732
184832
194833
204833
214833
224833
234833
244833
254833
264833
274833
284832
294732
304732
314631

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 7 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
127calm
137calm
147calm
157calm
167calm
177calm
187calm
197calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm
297calm
307calm
317calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min at the start of December to 8 h 18 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 7:58 AM to 8:18 AM, and sunset from 4:31 PM to 4:38 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.67:584:31
28.57:594:31
38.58:004:31
48.58:014:30
58.58:024:30
68.48:034:30
78.48:044:30
88.48:054:29
98.48:064:29
108.48:074:29
118.48:084:29
128.38:094:29
138.38:104:29
148.38:104:29
158.38:114:30
168.38:124:30
178.38:134:30
188.38:134:30
198.38:144:31
208.38:144:31
218.38:154:31
228.38:154:32
238.38:164:32
248.38:164:33
258.38:174:33
268.38:174:34
278.38:174:35
288.38:184:35
298.38:184:36
308.38:184:37
318.38:184:38

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 1.08 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.08 kWh/m² to a high of 5.64 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 1.08 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.2Dim
21.2Dim
31.2Dim
41.1Dim
51.1Dim
61.1Dim
71.1Dim
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 Rapperswil?

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 Rapperswil.

What to pack for Rapperswil in December

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

In December, Rapperswil sees daytime highs around 4°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 Rapperswil 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 Rapperswil 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 Rapperswil?

Rapperswil sits at 47.2°N, 8.8°E, 408 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Jona, 1.0 km away.

BaarZugAdliswil

Topography around Rapperswil

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rapperswil has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 143 m around an average of 425 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,444 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,286 m.

The land around Rapperswil is covered by water (48%) and trees (20%) within 3 km, grassland (41%) and trees (38%) within 16 km, and trees (41%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
143 m
16 km
1,444 m
80 km
3,286 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
December weather nearby: Jona 1.0 km · Wetzikon 11 km · Einsiedeln 12 km · Uster 16 km · Horgen 17 km · Baar 22 km · Zug 24 km · Adliswil 24 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 Rapperswil (47.2256°, 8.8223°, elevation 408 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).