Tumwater weather in December

In December, Tumwater sees average daytime highs of 45°F and overnight lows near 37°F, with 8.1 in of precipitation across 17.1 wet days and about 8.4 hours of daylight. It is the 12th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 45°F through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% 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 Tumwater's 12th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tumwater's year-round climate.

Daytime high
45°
12th warmest
Overnight low
37°
1st coldest
Precipitation
8.1 in
17.1 wet days
Daylight
8 h 18 min
7:58 AM – 4:18 PM
Cloud cover
80%
12th clearest
Wind
6 mph
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0.89 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.7
out of 10

Tumwater is city in Thurston County, Washington, United States.

Density
434/km²
people per km²
Founded
1869

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 45°F through the month.

A typical December day in Tumwater reaches about 45°F in the afternoon and slips back to 37°F overnight — a 7°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 38°F and 51°F. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 5°F cooler than November and on par with January.

20°30°40°50°60°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
14638
24638
34638
44538
54538
64538
74538
84537
94537
104537
114537
124537
134537
144537
154537
164437
174437
184437
194437
204437
214437
224437
234437
244437
254437
264437
274437
284437
294437
304437
314437

How December really feels in Tumwater

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
0
wind chill below the day's low

December sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Tumwater weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 12th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan45° / 38°7.617.52.38.70.9
Feb48° / 38°5.314.42101.5
Mar52° / 40°6.317.61.111.62.2
Apr57° / 43°4.714.90.113.33.5
May63° / 48°2.910.2014.85.5
Jun68° / 52°1.87.5015.66.5
Jul74° / 55°0.73.1015.38.2
Aug75° / 55°1.040148.2
Sep69° / 52°2.17012.47.0
Oct59° / 47°5.112.7010.64.3
Nov50° / 41°8.417.60.69.11.8
Dec45° / 37°8.117.12.38.40.7

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 8% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 81%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
12377
22377
32377
42278
52080
62080
72080
81981
91882
101783
111783
121585
131585
141585
151585
161585
171585
181684
191684
201783
211783
221783
231882
241882
251981
262080
272080
282179
292179
302179
312179

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Tumwater gets around 8.1 in of rain and snow over 17.1 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 56% and peaks near 58% on the wettest days, and about 2 days bring snow.

0%20%40%60%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1545
2545
3545
4545
5545
6555
7555
8554
9564
10564
11575
12575
13585
14585
15586
16586
17587
18587
19578
20579
21569
22569
235610
245610
255510
265510
275510
285611
295611
305611
315710

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 6 mph in December.

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

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
16calm
26calm
36calm
46calm
56calm
66calm
76calm
86calm
96calm
106calm
116calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
206calm
216calm
226calm
236calm
246calm
256calm
266calm
276calm
286calm
296calm
306calm
316calm

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 7:44 AM to 8:04 AM, and sunset from 4:19 PM to 4:26 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
18.67:444:19
28.67:454:19
38.57:464:18
48.57:474:18
58.57:484:18
68.57:494:18
78.57:504:17
88.47:514:17
98.47:524:17
108.47:534:17
118.47:544:17
128.47:554:17
138.47:564:17
148.37:564:17
158.37:574:17
168.37:584:18
178.37:594:18
188.37:594:18
198.38:004:19
208.38:004:19
218.38:014:19
228.38:014:20
238.38:024:20
248.38:024:21
258.38:034:21
268.38:034:22
278.38:034:23
288.38:044:23
298.38:044:24
308.38:044:25
318.48:044:26

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.89 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.89 kWh/m² to a high of 6.29 kWh/m² in July across the year — December's 0.89 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
11.0Dim
21.0Dim
31.0Dim
40.9Dim
50.9Dim
60.9Dim
70.9Dim
80.9Dim
90.9Dim
100.9Dim
110.9Dim
120.8Dim
130.8Dim
140.8Dim
150.8Dim
160.8Dim
170.8Dim
180.8Dim
190.8Dim
200.8Dim
210.8Dim
220.9Dim
230.9Dim
240.9Dim
250.9Dim
260.9Dim
270.9Dim
280.9Dim
290.9Dim
300.9Dim
310.9Dim
Planning a trip in December

Hazard calendar for Tumwater

In seasonPeak

In December, Tumwater sits inside its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Tumwater's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is December a good time to visit Tumwater?

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

0.7
Sightseeing
12th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
8th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Tumwater.

What to pack for Tumwater in December

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

In December, Tumwater sees daytime highs around 45°F and nights near 37°F. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 17 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in Tumwater 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 Tumwater peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 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 17UV 8Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Tumwater?

Tumwater sits at 47.0°N, 122.9°W, 174 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Olympia, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around Tumwater

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Tumwater.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Tumwater has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 486 ft around an average of 180 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,346 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,555 ft.

The land around Tumwater is covered by trees (60%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, trees (70%) within 10 miles, and trees (81%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
486 ft
10 miles
2,346 ft
50 miles
6,555 ft
treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Olympia 2.5 mi · Lacey 4.3 mi · Centralia 21 mi · Lakewood 22 mi · University Place 23 mi · Spanaway 24 mi · Parkland 25 mi · Frederickson 27 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 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 Tumwater (47.0073°, -122.9093°, elevation 174 ft), 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).