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December Weather at Wheaton Municipal Airport Minnesota, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 9°F, from 31°F to 22°F, rarely falling below 2°F or exceeding 45°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 10°F, from 15°F to 6°F, rarely falling below -14°F or exceeding 30°F.

For reference, on July 17, the hottest day of the year, temperatures at Wheaton Municipal Airport typically range from 61°F to 82°F, while on January 15, the coldest day of the year, they range from 4°F to 21°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Average High and Low Temperature in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930303131-20°F-20°F-10°F-10°F0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°F60°F60°F70°F70°FNovJanDec 131°FDec 131°F15°F15°FDec 3122°FDec 3122°F6°F6°FDec 1126°FDec 1126°F11°F11°FDec 2123°FDec 2123°F8°F8°F
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on December. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Average Hourly Temperature in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanfrigidfrigidfreezingvery coldcold
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Samara, Russia (5,327 miles away); Shitanjing, China (6,401 miles); and Xiaoshi, China (5,925 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Wheaton Municipal Airport (view comparison).

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The month of December at Wheaton Municipal Airport experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 56% throughout the month.

The clearest day of the month is December 2, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 46% of the time.

For reference, on February 4, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 60%, while on July 30, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 75%.

Cloud Cover Categories in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Cloud Cover Categories in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJanDec 146%Dec 146%Dec 3143%Dec 3143%Dec 1145%Dec 1145%Dec 2144%Dec 2144%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. At Wheaton Municipal Airport, the chance of a wet day over the course of December is essentially constant, remaining around 7% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 39% on June 13, and its lowest chance is 6% on January 28.

Over the course of December at Wheaton Municipal Airport, the chance of a day with only rain remains an essentially constant 1% throughout, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain remains an essentially constant 1% throughout, and the chance of a day with only snow remains an essentially constant 5% throughout.

Probability of Precipitation in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Probability of Precipitation in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%1%1%2%2%3%3%4%4%5%5%6%6%7%7%8%8%9%9%10%10%11%11%NovJanDec 19%Dec 19%Dec 317%Dec 317%Dec 117%Dec 117%Dec 216%Dec 216%snowmixedrain
The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during December at Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially constant, remaining about 0.1 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 0.6 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Average Monthly Rainfall in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 in0.0 in0.5 in0.5 in1.0 in1.0 in1.5 in1.5 in2.0 in2.0 in2.5 in2.5 in3.0 in3.0 in3.5 in3.5 inNovJanDec 10.2 inDec 10.2 inDec 310.1 inDec 310.1 inDec 110.1 inDec 110.1 inDec 210.1 inDec 210.1 in
The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during December at Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially constant, remaining about 3.1 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 9.8 inches or falling below -0.0 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Over the course of December at Wheaton Municipal Airport, the length of the day is essentially constant. The shortest day of the month is December 21, with 8 hours, 40 minutes of daylight and the longest day is December 1, with 8 hours, 56 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrNovJanDec 218 hr, 40 minDec 218 hr, 40 minnightnightdaydayDec 18 hr, 56 minDec 18 hr, 56 min
The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month at Wheaton Municipal Airport is 7:47 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 20 minutes later at 8:07 AM on December 31.

The earliest sunset is 4:41 PM on December 9 and the latest sunset is 10 minutes later at 4:51 PM on December 31.

Daylight saving time is observed at Wheaton Municipal Airport during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during December, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:36 AM and sets 15 hours, 44 minutes later, at 9:19 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 8:04 AM and sets 8 hours, 40 minutes later, at 4:44 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNovJan7:47 AM7:47 AMDec 14:43 PMDec 14:43 PM8:07 AM8:07 AMDec 314:51 PMDec 314:51 PM7:57 AM7:57 AMDec 114:41 PMDec 114:41 PM8:04 AM8:04 AMDec 214:44 PMDec 214:44 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of December. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJan00101020200010102020
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of December 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for December 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanNov 17:48 AMNov 17:48 AMNov 153:29 PMNov 153:29 PMDec 112:22 AMDec 112:22 AMDec 153:02 AMDec 153:02 AMDec 304:28 PMDec 304:28 PMJan 134:28 PMJan 134:28 PMJan 296:37 AMJan 296:37 AM8:22 AM8:22 AM5:59 PM5:59 PM4:27 PM4:27 PM8:45 AM8:45 AM8:36 AM8:36 AM4:36 PM4:36 PM3:41 PM3:41 PM8:50 AM8:50 AM8:26 AM8:26 AM4:17 PM4:17 PM4:39 PM4:39 PM9:01 AM9:01 AM8:21 AM8:21 AM5:43 PM5:43 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Dec 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
0%8:36 AMSE4:36 PMSW-12:36 PMS245,248 mi
2
2%9:40 AMSE5:27 PMSW-1:33 PMS243,161 mi
3
7%10:33 AMSE6:29 PMSW-2:31 PMS241,025 mi
4
13%11:17 AMSE7:41 PMSW-3:29 PMS238,878 mi
5
22%11:50 AMESE8:57 PMWSW-4:23 PMS236,737 mi
6
32%12:17 PMESE10:15 PMWSW-5:15 PMS234,623 mi
7
43%12:39 PMESE11:32 PMWSW-6:04 PMS232,572 mi
8
50%12:58 PME--6:51 PMS230,659 mi
9
66%-12:49 AMW1:16 PME7:38 PMS229,002 mi
10
77%-2:07 AMW1:35 PMENE8:27 PMS227,754 mi
11
86%-3:27 AMWNW1:57 PMENE9:18 PMS227,091 mi
12
94%-4:50 AMWNW2:23 PMENE10:12 PMS227,172 mi
13
98%-6:15 AMNW2:57 PMNE11:11 PMS228,103 mi
14
99%-7:37 AMNW3:41 PMNE--
15
100%-8:50 AMNW4:39 PMNE12:13 AMS229,899 mi
16
99%-9:48 AMNW5:48 PMNE1:15 AMS232,464 mi
17
95%-10:32 AMNW7:03 PMNE2:15 AMS235,592 mi
18
89%-11:04 AMWNW8:18 PMENE3:09 AMS239,009 mi
19
82%-11:28 AMWNW9:30 PMENE3:58 AMS242,418 mi
20
73%-11:47 AMWNW10:38 PMENE4:43 AMS245,537 mi
21
64%-12:04 PMW11:44 PME5:24 AMS248,129 mi
22
50%-12:19 PMW-6:04 AMS250,017 mi
23
44%12:48 AME12:34 PMW-6:42 AMS251,091 mi
24
35%1:52 AMESE12:49 PMWSW-7:21 AMS251,311 mi
25
26%2:57 AMESE1:07 PMWSW-8:02 AMS250,708 mi
26
18%4:04 AMESE1:28 PMWSW-8:46 AMS249,372 mi
27
11%5:13 AMSE1:55 PMSW-9:34 AMS247,446 mi
28
5%6:22 AMSE2:31 PMSW-10:26 AMS245,111 mi
29
2%7:28 AMSE3:18 PMSW-11:23 AMS242,566 mi
30
0%8:26 AMSE4:17 PMSW-12:22 PMS240,010 mi
31
1%9:14 AMSE5:28 PMSW-1:21 PMS237,617 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy at Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on July 19, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 28% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Humidity Comfort Levels in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NovJanDec 10%Dec 10%Dec 310%Dec 310%Dec 110%Dec 110%Dec 210%Dec 210%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 11.6 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on March 31, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 12.8 miles per hour, while on July 31, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 9.1 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction at Wheaton Municipal Airport throughout December is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 35% on December 12.

Wind Direction in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Wind Direction in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportSWNDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NovJanwestsouthnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Wheaton Municipal Airport typically lasts for 5.2 months (157 days), from around April 28 to around October 2, rarely starting before April 10 or after May 15, and rarely ending before September 13 or after October 22.

The month of December at Wheaton Municipal Airport is reliably fully outside of the growing season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJan0%Dec 160%Dec 16frigidfreezingvery coldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days at Wheaton Municipal Airport are essentially constant during December, remaining around 2,529°F throughout.

Growing Degree Days in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Growing Degree Days in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312,300°F2,300°F2,400°F2,400°F2,500°F2,500°F2,600°F2,600°F2,700°F2,700°F2,800°F2,800°F2,900°F2,900°FNovJanDec 12,529°FDec 12,529°FDec 312,529°FDec 312,529°FDec 112,529°FDec 112,529°FDec 212,529°FDec 212,529°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of December, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy at Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.1 kWh of 1.5 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during December is 1.4 kWh on December 22.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December at Wheaton Municipal Airport

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December at Wheaton Municipal AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh2.5 kWh3.0 kWh3.0 kWhNovJanDec 221.4 kWhDec 221.4 kWhDec 11.6 kWhDec 11.6 kWhDec 111.4 kWhDec 111.4 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Wheaton Municipal Airport are 45.785 deg latitude, -96.543 deg longitude, and 1,014 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Wheaton Municipal Airport is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 92 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,009 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (174 feet). Within 50 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,220 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Wheaton Municipal Airport is covered by cropland (100%), within 10 miles by cropland (92%), and within 50 miles by cropland (86%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Wheaton Municipal Airport, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

Wheaton Municipal Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

In the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on records from nearby stations, adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal intra-station differences. For a given day of the year and hour of the day, the fallback station is selected to minimize the prediction error over the years for which there are measurements for both stations.

The stations on which we may fall back include but are not limited to Sisseton Municipal Airport; Breckenridge-Wahpeton Interstate Airport; Ortonville, Ortonville Muncipal-Martinson Field Airport; Morris Municipal Airport - Charlie Schmidt Field; Fergus Falls Municipal/Einar Mickelson Field; Appleton Municipal Airport; Madison-Lac Qui Parle County Airport; and Benson Municipal Airport.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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