Derby weather in December

In December, Derby sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 63 mm of precipitation across 12 wet days and about 7.4 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 7°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 42 min at the start of December to 7 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Derby's 4th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Derby's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
63 mm
12 wet days
Daylight
7 h 24 min
8:21 AM – 3:43 PM
Cloud cover
72%
4th clearest
Wind
18 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.56 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.8
out of 10

Derby is city in Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England.

Density
3,468/km²
people per km²
Founded
~600 CE

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 7°C through the month.

A typical December day in Derby reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 2°C and 11°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
183
283
383
483
573
673
773
873
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1472
1572
1672
1772
1872
1972
2072
2172
2272
2372
2462
2562
2662
2762
2862
2962
3062
3162

How December really feels in Derby

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.

Derby weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 5512.31.47.90.6
Feb / 4710.21.79.50.9
Mar / 49111.111.51.9
Apr12° / 5611.70.313.63.1
May15° / 5711.2015.54.4
Jun18° / 10°6611.7016.65.4
Jul20° / 12°6612.1016.15.9
Aug20° / 12°6511.4014.55.9
Sep17° / 10°569.6012.45.3
Oct13° / 6511.5010.33.5
Nov / 6312.20.38.41.8
Dec / 63121.27.40.8

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 16% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 14% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 70%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13070
23070
33169
43268
53367
63367
73367
83367
93367
103268
113268
123169
133268
143169
153070
162971
172872
182872
192773
202674
212773
222773
232872
242872
252872
262872
272872
282971
292971
302971
312971

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Derby gets around 63 mm of rain and snow over 12 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 39% and peaks near 40% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1393
2393
3393
4393
5393
6393
7383
8383
9383
10383
11383
12383
13383
14383
15393
16393
17393
18393
19394
20394
21394
22395
23395
24395
25395
26395
27406
28406
29406
30406
31405

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 18 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 18 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
117light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1418light breeze
1518light breeze
1618light breeze
1718light breeze
1818light breeze
1918light breeze
2018light breeze
2118light breeze
2218light breeze
2318light breeze
2418light breeze
2518light breeze
2618light breeze
2718light breeze
2818light breeze
2918light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 42 min at the start of December to 7 h 24 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 8:04 AM to 8:27 AM, and sunset from 3:47 PM to 3:51 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.78:043:47
27.78:063:46
37.68:073:46
47.68:083:45
57.68:103:45
67.68:113:44
77.58:123:44
87.58:133:44
97.58:153:43
107.58:163:43
117.48:173:43
127.48:183:43
137.48:193:43
147.48:203:43
157.48:203:43
167.48:213:43
177.48:223:43
187.38:233:43
197.38:233:44
207.38:243:44
217.38:243:44
227.38:253:45
237.38:253:45
247.38:263:46
257.38:263:46
267.38:263:47
277.48:273:48
287.48:273:49
297.48:273:49
307.48:273:50
317.48:273:51

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.56 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.56 kWh/m² to a high of 4.88 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.56 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.6Dim
50.6Dim
60.6Dim
70.6Dim
80.6Dim
90.6Dim
100.6Dim
110.6Dim
120.6Dim
130.6Dim
140.6Dim
150.5Dim
160.5Dim
170.5Dim
180.5Dim
190.5Dim
200.5Dim
210.5Dim
220.5Dim
230.5Dim
240.5Dim
250.5Dim
260.5Dim
270.5Dim
280.5Dim
290.6Dim
300.6Dim
310.6Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Derby?

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

0.8
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Derby.

What to pack for Derby in December

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

In December, Derby sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Derby 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 Derby peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 12UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Derby?

Derby sits at 52.9°N, 1.5°W, 55 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Sinfin, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Derby

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Derby has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 72 m around an average of 64 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 290 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 695 m.

The land around Derby is covered by artificial surfaces (55%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, grassland (42%), trees (22%) and cropland (21%) within 16 km, and grassland (39%) and cropland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
72 m
16 km
290 m
80 km
695 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Sinfin 5.0 km · Belper 11 km · Ilkeston 12 km · Heanor 13 km · Ripley 13 km · Long Eaton 14 km · Eastwood 15 km · Burton upon Trent 17 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type D / G / M
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 89% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$57,602
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
3.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

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 Derby (52.9228°, -1.4766°, elevation 55 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).