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The coolest places in North America in December: ranked by average high temperature

Nuuk tops the list at -9.2 °C in December. Ranked from 1991–2020 climate normals across 50 destinations in North America.

Top three in December: Nuuk (-9.2 °C) , Winnipeg (-8.1 °C) , Saskatoon (-7.5 °C) . Between first and 50th place the avg high differs by 14 °C.

# Destination Country Avg high Avg high Avg low Rainfall Wet days Sunshine Sea temp
1 Nuuk Greenland -9.2 °C -9.2 °C -15 °C 64 mm 10 28 h 0.6 °C
2 Winnipeg Canada -8.1 °C -8.1 °C -16 °C 22 mm 5 138 h –
3 Saskatoon Canada -7.5 °C -7.5 °C -15 °C 12 mm 4 147 h –
4 Edmonton Canada -6.2 °C -6.2 °C -14 °C 15 mm 5 154 h –
5 Regina Canada -6.2 °C -6.2 °C -14 °C 18 mm 5 157 h –
6 Anchorage United States -5.2 °C -5.2 °C -9.7 °C 93 mm 14 54 h 0 °C
7 Greater Sudbury Canada -3.0 °C -3.0 °C -11 °C 60 mm 11 141 h –
8 Québec Canada -3.0 °C -3.0 °C -11 °C 101 mm 13 144 h –
9 Calgary Canada -2.4 °C -2.4 °C -12 °C 14 mm 4 175 h –
10 Montréal Canada -2.2 °C -2.2 °C -9.2 °C 85 mm 12 149 h –
11 Minneapolis United States -2.0 °C -2.0 °C -9.3 °C 35 mm 6 156 h –
12 Laval Canada -1.2 °C -1.2 °C -8.5 °C 85 mm 12 149 h –
13 Longueuil Canada -1.0 °C -1.0 °C -8.1 °C 85 mm 12 149 h –
14 Sioux Falls United States -0.9 °C -0.9 °C -8.9 °C 27 mm 5 192 h –
15 Ottawa Canada -0.7 °C -0.7 °C -7.5 °C 79 mm 11 135 h –
16 Madison United States 0.3 °C 0.3 °C -6.8 °C 48 mm 8 161 h –
17 Kitchener Canada 0.9 °C 0.9 °C -5.4 °C 66 mm 11 138 h –
18 Brampton Canada 1.4 °C 1.4 °C -4.8 °C 60 mm 10 145 h –
19 Vaughan Canada 1.6 °C 1.6 °C -4.4 °C 61 mm 10 148 h –
20 Milwaukee United States 1.6 °C 1.6 °C -3.3 °C 56 mm 9 160 h –
21 Markham Canada 1.6 °C 1.6 °C -4.5 °C 63 mm 10 146 h –
22 London Canada 1.7 °C 1.7 °C -4.1 °C 70 mm 11 138 h –
23 Des Moines United States 1.9 °C 1.9 °C -6.0 °C 42 mm 6 179 h –
24 Grand Rapids United States 2.0 °C 2.0 °C -3.6 °C 60 mm 10 124 h –
25 Mississauga Canada 2.0 °C 2.0 °C -3.7 °C 70 mm 10 148 h –
26 Oshawa Canada 2.0 °C 2.0 °C -3.4 °C 69 mm 10 149 h –
27 Spokane United States 2.2 °C 2.2 °C -3.7 °C 77 mm 12 142 h –
28 Aurora United States 2.3 °C 2.3 °C -4.7 °C 55 mm 8 162 h –
29 Detroit United States 2.6 °C 2.6 °C -3.0 °C 63 mm 10 155 h –
30 Omaha United States 2.6 °C 2.6 °C -5.8 °C 36 mm 5 198 h –
31 Chicago United States 2.6 °C 2.6 °C -3.1 °C 61 mm 9 163 h –
32 Hamilton Canada 2.7 °C 2.7 °C -2.3 °C 72 mm 11 144 h –
33 Buffalo United States 2.8 °C 2.8 °C -2.3 °C 80 mm 12 135 h –
34 Salt Lake City United States 2.8 °C 2.8 °C -6.4 °C 49 mm 9 219 h –
35 Rochester United States 3.0 °C 3.0 °C -2.4 °C 93 mm 15 133 h –
36 Toledo United States 3.2 °C 3.2 °C -3.1 °C 64 mm 10 154 h –
37 Fort Wayne United States 3.3 °C 3.3 °C -3.5 °C 64 mm 10 153 h –
38 Halifax Canada 3.3 °C 3.3 °C -2.2 °C 139 mm 13 143 h 5.6 °C
39 Saint-Pierre Saint Pierre and Miquelon 3.5 °C 3.5 °C 0.3 °C 153 mm 18 105 h 4.1 °C
40 Lincoln United States 3.6 °C 3.6 °C -5.1 °C 33 mm 5 207 h –
41 Cleveland United States 3.9 °C 3.9 °C -1.4 °C 82 mm 13 142 h –
42 Worcester United States 3.9 °C 3.9 °C -3.1 °C 109 mm 10 181 h –
43 Akron United States 3.9 °C 3.9 °C -2.8 °C 81 mm 11 142 h –
44 Boise United States 3.9 °C 3.9 °C -3.6 °C 50 mm 10 195 h –
45 Springfield United States 4.4 °C 4.4 °C -2.8 °C 104 mm 10 183 h –
46 Fort Collins United States 4.6 °C 4.6 °C -7.1 °C 16 mm 4 243 h –
47 Indianapolis United States 4.8 °C 4.8 °C -2.3 °C 78 mm 10 161 h –
48 Boston United States 4.8 °C 4.8 °C -2.5 °C 116 mm 10 180 h 7.5 °C
49 Columbus United States 4.9 °C 4.9 °C -2.2 °C 85 mm 10 154 h –
50 Lakewood United States 5.0 °C 5.0 °C -8.3 °C 21 mm 4 250 h –

Monthly values for the month named in the ranking; only destinations with a published climate page are ranked. Download this ranking as CSV.

The same ranking one month earlier and later

November: top 5

  1. Nuuk -6.2 °C
  2. Anchorage -2.4 °C
  3. Saskatoon -0.4 °C
  4. Edmonton -0.3 °C
  5. Winnipeg 0.06 °C

Full ranking for November

January: top 5

  1. Winnipeg -11 °C
  2. Nuuk -11 °C
  3. Saskatoon -9.7 °C
  4. Regina -8.5 °C
  5. Edmonton -7.3 °C

Full ranking for January

How this ranking is built

What is ranked
The average daily high temperature, in °C, in December, lowest first.
Period
1991–2020 climate normals: the same 30 years for every destination, so the list compares like with like.
Who is included
50 destinations in North America with a published climate page. Neighbouring places that share a climate series are shown once.
Ties
Equal values are ordered by population.
Sources
ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis via Open-Meteo; sea temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1. Measured values are reproduced unchanged; only the ordering is ours.

Data sources and method

Normal period
1991–2020
Dataset version
era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: ranking order, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.