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Typical December weather

New York City

New York · December

Cold and often wet — the coat matters more than the snow.

44° days
34° nights

about 2 snowy days · 9½ hours of daylight

What to pack

What December feels like

Everyone pictures a white December; what you usually get is raw and damp, with the real snow holding off until January. The tree at Rockefeller Center makes those blocks genuinely impassable from early in the month, and the Bryant Park stalls are the calmer way to do the same thing.

Winter is doing its thing: 4.9 in of snow in a typical December, with fresh snow on about 2 days. about 14 nights dip below freezing.

The numbers

Typical high44°
Typical low34°
Days with snow2
Rain and melted snow4.4 in
Snowfall4.9 in
Sunrise / sunset (mid-month)7:13 am / 4:29 pm

How December compares

See the whole year in New York City ›