Weather in the Azores in December
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
December averages
| Measurement | Ponta Delgada, south coast | Ribeira Grande, north coast | Mount Pico summitModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 17 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C |
| Average low | 15 °C | 8 °C | 3 °C |
| Daylight | 9.5 h | 9.5 h | 10.0 h |
| Sea temperature | 18 °C | – | – |
Temperature and daylight, averaged over the ten years from 2016 to 2025 and recomputed from the Open-Meteo archive rather than typed in by hand. The model works in cells roughly ten kilometres across, so each column describes an area rather than one thermometer. Checked against IPMA's Ponta Delgada normal, the temperatures land within about a degree and a half. Sea temperature averages the years 2022 to 2025. The marine record is shorter than the air record, so it rests on fewer years.
Rain in December
Ponta Delgada averages 115 mm of rain in December, on 10 days with a millimetre or more.
The high interior and the north-facing slopes are wetter than the coast in every month of the year, often several times over. IPMA publishes no station normal for the uplands or for the summit of Mount Pico, so this page puts no millimetre figure on them rather than one it cannot check.
Rainfall: the IPMA climate normal for the Ponta Delgada observatory (station 522, 58 m), averaged over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010. The ten-year reanalysis behind the table above is not used for rain. Its grid cell is about ten kilometres across and these islands are only a few cells wide, so it averages the coast with the slopes that climb behind it, where most of the rain falls. Measured against the station normal it runs well high in the summer months.
What December feels like
December is mild and often wet, with the shortest days of the year. The coast rarely drops below the mid-teens even overnight.
What to pack
Layers, a waterproof, and one smart thing if you are out for New Year. Warm clothing for anything above the tree line.
What to do in December
The Christmas lights, the market on Avenida Arriaga and the New Year fireworks over the bay are why many people come at all. Between them the trails are empty.
Worth knowing before you book
It is the wettest month by total and the fronts arrive in sequence. New Year is the single busiest night of the year for hotels and flights, and the airport is at its windiest.
Quick answers
- How warm is it in the Azores in December?
- In Ponta Delgada an average December day reaches 17 °C and falls to 15 °C overnight. The summit of Mount Pico averages 8 °C in the same month, so the mountain needs its own layer.
- Does it rain in the Azores in December?
- Ponta Delgada records about 115 mm across December, on 10 days with a millimetre or more of rain. The north coast and the mountains take several times as much in the same weeks, which is why the two halves of the island can look like different holidays.
- Can you swim in the sea in December?
- The sea averages 18 °C in December. The Azores sit in open ocean with no shallow shelf to warm the water, so it stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in December?
- About 9.5 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long trilho you can fit in before dark.