Harrogate weather in December

In December, Harrogate sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 69 mm of precipitation across 12.5 wet days and about 7.2 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-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 14% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 30 min at the start of December to 7 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Harrogate's 6th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Harrogate's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
69 mm
12.5 wet days
Daylight
7 h 12 min
8:28 AM – 3:37 PM
Cloud cover
73%
6th clearest
Wind
17 km/h
3rd windiest
Solar energy
0.49 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.7
out of 10

Harrogate is town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England.

Founded
1330

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 Harrogate reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 4°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 2°C cooler than November and on par with January.

-5°10°15°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
183
283
383
473
573
673
773
873
973
1073
1173
1272
1372
1472
1572
1672
1772
1872
1972
2062
2162
2262
2362
2462
2562
2662
2762
2862
2962
3062
3162

How December really feels in Harrogate

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.

Harrogate weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 6212.827.70.6
Feb / 5511.52.39.40.8
Mar / 5111.71.511.51.7
Apr12° / 5711.10.513.72.9
May15° / 5410.9015.74.1
Jun17° / 10°7012.1016.85.1
Jul20° / 12°6512.1016.35.7
Aug19° / 12°7112014.65.7
Sep17° / 10°6010.2012.55.0
Oct13° / 64120.110.23.3
Nov / 6412.50.48.31.7
Dec / 6912.51.67.20.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% 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 71%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12971
23070
33070
43070
53169
63169
73169
83169
93169
103169
113169
123070
133070
142971
152971
162971
172971
182872
192872
202773
212872
222773
232773
242773
252773
262773
272674
282674
292674
302674
312674

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Harrogate gets around 69 mm of rain and snow over 12.5 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 40% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1424
2424
3424
4414
5415
6415
7415
8405
9405
10405
11395
12394
13394
14394
15394
16394
17395
18395
19395
20395
21405
22405
23405
24405
25416
26416
27416
28426
29426
30426
31437

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 17 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.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
117light breeze
217light breeze
317light breeze
417light breeze
517light breeze
617light breeze
717light breeze
817light breeze
917light breeze
1017light breeze
1117light breeze
1217light breeze
1317light breeze
1417light breeze
1517light breeze
1617light breeze
1717light breeze
1817light breeze
1917light breeze
2017light breeze
2117light breeze
2217light breeze
2317light breeze
2417light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 30 min at the start of December to 7 h 12 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 8:10 AM to 8:34 AM, and sunset from 3:41 PM to 3:45 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.58:103:41
27.58:123:41
37.48:133:40
47.48:153:39
57.48:163:39
67.48:173:38
77.38:193:38
87.38:203:38
97.38:213:37
107.38:223:37
117.28:233:37
127.28:243:37
137.28:253:37
147.28:263:37
157.28:273:37
167.28:283:37
177.18:293:37
187.18:293:37
197.18:303:37
207.18:313:38
217.18:313:38
227.18:323:39
237.18:323:39
247.18:323:40
257.18:333:40
267.18:333:41
277.18:333:42
287.28:333:42
297.28:343:43
307.28:343:44
317.28:343:45

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.49 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.49 kWh/m² to a high of 4.77 kWh/m² in May across the year — December's 0.49 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.6Dim
20.6Dim
30.6Dim
40.5Dim
50.5Dim
60.5Dim
70.5Dim
80.5Dim
90.5Dim
100.5Dim
110.5Dim
120.5Dim
130.5Dim
140.5Dim
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
290.5Dim
300.5Dim
310.5Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Harrogate?

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

0.7
Sightseeing
11th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Harrogate.

What to pack for Harrogate in December

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

In December, Harrogate sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Harrogate in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Harrogate peaks around August 11 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowAug 11UV 6Dec 21UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Harrogate?

Harrogate sits at 54.0°N, 1.5°W, 127 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Ripon, 16 km away.

Topography around Harrogate

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Harrogate has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 m around an average of 111 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 322 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 741 m.

The land around Harrogate is covered by trees (34%), grassland (34%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 3 km, grassland (53%) and cropland (24%) within 16 km, and grassland (53%) and cropland (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
135 m
16 km
322 m
80 km
741 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Ripon 16 km · Yeadon 17 km · Guiseley 17 km · Horsforth 18 km · Chapel Allerton 18 km · Leeds 22 km · Baildon 23 km · Shipley 23 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 Harrogate (53.9908°, -1.5373°, elevation 127 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).