Johnstone weather in December

In December, Johnstone sees average daytime highs of 7°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 124 mm of precipitation across 16.3 wet days and about 6.8 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-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 13% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 7 h 12 min at the start of December to 6 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Johnstone's 5th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Johnstone's year-round climate.

Daytime high
11th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
124 mm
16.3 wet days
Daylight
6 h 42 min
8:52 AM – 3:37 PM
Cloud cover
75%
5th clearest
Wind
16 km/h
4th windiest
Solar energy
0.37 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.8
out of 10

Johnstone is town in Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK.

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 Johnstone reaches about 7°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 3°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)
184
283
383
483
583
683
783
883
973
1073
1173
1273
1373
1473
1573
1673
1773
1873
1973
2073
2172
2272
2372
2472
2572
2672
2772
2872
2972
3072
3173

How December really feels in Johnstone

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.

Johnstone weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 11th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 12617.52.57.40.6
Feb / 10214.72.49.20.8
Mar / 9214.91.711.41.5
Apr11° / 7714.10.513.82.5
May14° / 7813.60.2163.7
Jun16° / 10°8414.4017.24.4
Jul18° / 12°9215.7016.74.8
Aug18° / 11°10516.4014.84.8
Sep16° / 10°9014.1012.54.2
Oct12° / 12316.1010.12.8
Nov / 11816.90.381.5
Dec / 12416.31.86.80.8

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% 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 75%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12872
22872
32971
42971
52971
62872
72872
82773
92773
102773
112674
122575
132575
142476
152377
162377
172377
182278
192278
202278
212278
222278
232278
242278
252179
262278
272278
282278
292377
302377
312377

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Johnstone gets around 124 mm of rain and snow over 16.3 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 53% and peaks near 57% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1553
2543
3544
4544
5544
6535
7535
8535
9525
10525
11515
12515
13515
14515
15515
16515
17515
18515
19516
20516
21526
22526
23536
24537
25547
26547
27557
28568
29568
30578
31578

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 16 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 16 km/h on the calmest days to 17 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
116light breeze
216light breeze
316light breeze
416light breeze
516light breeze
616light breeze
716light breeze
816light breeze
916light breeze
1016light breeze
1116light breeze
1216light breeze
1316light breeze
1416light breeze
1516light breeze
1616light breeze
1716light breeze
1816light breeze
1916light breeze
2016light breeze
2116light breeze
2216light breeze
2316light breeze
2416light breeze
2517light breeze
2617light breeze
2717light breeze
2817light breeze
2917light breeze
3017light breeze
3117light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 7 h 12 min at the start of December to 6 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:33 AM to 8:57 AM, and sunset from 3:42 PM to 3:45 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
17.28:333:42
27.18:353:42
37.18:363:41
47.08:383:40
57.08:393:39
67.08:413:39
76.98:423:38
86.98:433:38
96.98:453:38
106.98:463:37
116.88:473:37
126.88:483:37
136.88:493:37
146.88:503:37
156.88:513:37
166.78:523:37
176.78:533:37
186.78:533:37
196.78:543:37
206.78:553:37
216.78:553:38
226.78:563:38
236.78:563:39
246.78:573:39
256.78:573:40
266.78:573:41
276.78:573:41
286.78:573:42
296.88:583:43
306.88:583:44
316.88:573:45

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.37 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.37 kWh/m² to a high of 4.76 kWh/m² in May across the year — December's 0.37 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.5Dim
20.4Dim
30.4Dim
40.4Dim
50.4Dim
60.4Dim
70.4Dim
80.4Dim
90.4Dim
100.4Dim
110.4Dim
120.4Dim
130.4Dim
140.4Dim
150.4Dim
160.4Dim
170.4Dim
180.4Dim
190.3Dim
200.3Dim
210.3Dim
220.3Dim
230.3Dim
240.3Dim
250.3Dim
260.4Dim
270.4Dim
280.4Dim
290.4Dim
300.4Dim
310.4Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Johnstone?

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

0.8
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Johnstone.

What to pack for Johnstone in December

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

In December, Johnstone sees daytime highs around 7°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 16 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

Sea temperature near Johnstone in December

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 24 km away) is warmest in August at about 15°C and coldest in February near 7°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr8Bracing
May10Bracing
Jun13Bracing
Jul15Bracing
Aug15Cool
Sep14Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Johnstone 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 Johnstone peaks around June 18 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 5 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 18UV 5Dec 20UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5Moderate
Jun5High
Jul5Moderate
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Johnstone?

Johnstone sits at 55.8°N, 4.5°W, 36 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Paisley, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Johnstone

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Johnstone has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 214 m around an average of 63 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 517 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,163 m.

The land around Johnstone is covered by grassland (48%), trees (27%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, grassland (61%) within 16 km, and grassland (55%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
214 m
16 km
517 m
80 km
1,163 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Paisley 5.0 km · Barrhead 8.0 km · Erskine 9.0 km · Renfrew 9.0 km · Clydebank 11 km · Newton Mearns 13 km · Dumbarton 13 km · Bearsden 15 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 Johnstone (55.8291°, -4.516°, elevation 36 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).