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December Weather in Charleston South Carolina, United States

Daily high temperatures decrease by 5°F, from 65°F to 60°F, rarely falling below 47°F or exceeding 75°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 5°F, from 49°F to 44°F, rarely falling below 31°F or exceeding 62°F.

For reference, on July 22, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Charleston typically range from 77°F to 89°F, while on January 17, the coldest day of the year, they range from 43°F to 59°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in December in Charleston

Average High and Low Temperature in December in CharlestonDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313130°F30°F35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°FNovJanDec 165°FDec 165°F49°F49°FDec 3160°FDec 3160°F44°F44°FDec 1163°FDec 1163°F47°F47°FDec 2161°FDec 2161°F45°F45°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 in Charleston

Average Hourly Temperature in December in CharlestonDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 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 AMNovJancoldcoldcoolcomfortablevery cold
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.

Uzunbağ, Turkey (6,138 miles away); Yangshuo, China (8,410 miles); and Kuai’an, China (8,188 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Charleston (view comparison).

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The month of December in Charleston experiences gradually increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 43% to 47%.

The clearest day of the month is December 4, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 57% of the time.

For reference, on July 26, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 57%, while on October 26, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 66%.

Cloud Cover Categories in December in Charleston

Cloud Cover Categories in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJanDec 157%Dec 157%Dec 3153%Dec 3153%Dec 1155%Dec 1155%Dec 2153%Dec 2153%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. In Charleston, the chance of a wet day over the course of December is gradually increasing, starting the month at 22% and ending it at 25%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 51% on August 4, and its lowest chance is 19% on October 30.

Probability of Precipitation in December in Charleston

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 in Charleston is gradually increasing, starting the month at 2.5 inches, when it rarely exceeds 4.5 inches or falls below 0.8 inches, and ending the month at 2.9 inches, when it rarely exceeds 5.5 inches or falls below 1.0 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in December in Charleston

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.

Over the course of December in Charleston, the length of the day is essentially constant. The shortest day of the month is December 21, with 10 hours, 0 minutes of daylight and the longest day is December 1, with 10 hours, 9 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in Charleston

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrNovJanDec 2110 hr, 0 minDec 2110 hr, 0 minnightnightdaydayDec 110 hr, 9 minDec 110 hr, 9 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 in Charleston is 7:04 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 17 minutes later at 7:22 AM on December 31.

The earliest sunset is 5:13 PM on December 3 and the latest sunset is 11 minutes later at 5:24 PM on December 31.

Daylight saving time is observed in Charleston during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during December, so the entire month is in standard time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 6:12 AM and sets 14 hours, 19 minutes later, at 8:30 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 7:18 AM and sets 10 hours, 0 minutes later, at 5:17 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December in Charleston

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNovJan7:04 AM7:04 AMDec 15:13 PMDec 15:13 PM7:22 AM7:22 AMDec 315:24 PMDec 315:24 PM7:12 AM7:12 AMDec 115:14 PMDec 115:14 PM7:18 AM7:18 AMDec 215:17 PMDec 215:17 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 in Charleston

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December in CharlestonDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 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 AMNovJan0010102020303000101020203030
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 in Charleston

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December in CharlestonDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanNov 18:48 AMNov 18:48 AMNov 154:29 PMNov 154:29 PMDec 11:22 AMDec 11:22 AMDec 154:02 AMDec 154:02 AMDec 305:28 PMDec 305:28 PMJan 135:28 PMJan 135:28 PMJan 297:37 AMJan 297:37 AM7:43 AM7:43 AM6:24 PM6:24 PM4:59 PM4:59 PM7:47 AM7:47 AM7:35 AM7:35 AM5:21 PM5:21 PM4:26 PM4:26 PM7:44 AM7:44 AM7:22 AM7:22 AM5:03 PM5:03 PM5:19 PM5:19 PM8:10 AM8:10 AM7:35 AM7:35 AM6:07 PM6:07 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%7:35 AMESE5:21 PMWSW-12:28 PMS245,342 mi
2
2%8:35 AMSE6:13 PMSW-1:24 PMS243,258 mi
3
7%9:30 AMSE7:13 PMWSW-2:22 PMS241,124 mi
4
13%10:19 AMESE8:18 PMWSW-3:19 PMS238,978 mi
5
21%11:02 AMESE9:24 PMWSW-4:13 PMS236,837 mi
6
31%11:39 AMESE10:31 PMWSW-5:05 PMS234,721 mi
7
42%12:12 PMESE11:37 PMW-5:54 PMS232,667 mi
8
50%12:42 PME--6:41 PMS230,745 mi
9
66%-12:43 AMW1:11 PME7:28 PMS229,072 mi
10
77%-1:49 AMW1:41 PME8:16 PMS227,802 mi
11
86%-2:58 AMWNW2:13 PMENE9:07 PMS227,107 mi
12
93%-4:09 AMWNW2:50 PMENE10:02 PMS227,149 mi
13
98%-5:22 AMWNW3:34 PMENE11:01 PMS228,040 mi
14
99%-6:35 AMWNW4:26 PMENE--
15
100%-7:44 AMNW5:26 PMNE12:04 AMS229,798 mi
16
99%-8:45 AMNW6:31 PMENE1:06 AMS232,332 mi
17
95%-9:36 AMWNW7:38 PMENE2:06 AMS235,440 mi
18
90%-10:17 AMWNW8:43 PMENE3:01 AMS238,852 mi
19
82%-10:52 AMWNW9:45 PMENE3:51 AMS242,268 mi
20
74%-11:21 AMWNW10:44 PMENE4:36 AMS245,406 mi
21
64%-11:47 AMW11:40 PME5:18 AMS248,026 mi
22
50%-12:11 PMW-5:57 AMS249,949 mi
23
45%12:35 AME12:34 PMW-6:36 AMS251,060 mi
24
35%1:29 AME12:59 PMWSW-7:15 AMS251,319 mi
25
26%2:25 AMESE1:26 PMWSW-7:55 AMS250,752 mi
26
18%3:22 AMESE1:56 PMWSW-8:39 AMS249,447 mi
27
11%4:22 AMESE2:31 PMWSW-9:26 AMS247,545 mi
28
6%5:23 AMESE3:14 PMWSW-10:18 AMS245,224 mi
29
2%6:24 AMSE4:04 PMSW-11:14 AMS242,685 mi
30
0%7:22 AMSE5:03 PMSW-12:12 PMS240,126 mi
31
1%8:14 AMESE6:07 PMWSW-1:11 PMS237,723 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 in Charleston is decreasing during December, falling from 10% to 4% over the course of the month.

For reference, on July 19, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 99% of the time, while on January 31, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 1% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in Charleston

Humidity Comfort Levels in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NovJanDec 110%Dec 110%Dec 314%Dec 314%Dec 117%Dec 117%Dec 215%Dec 215%muggymuggyhumidhumiddrydrycomfortablecomfortableoppressiveoppressive
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 in Charleston is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 10.2 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on February 26, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 10.9 miles per hour, while on August 16, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 7.8 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in December in Charleston

Average Wind Speed in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphNovJanDec 110.0 mphDec 110.0 mphDec 3110.4 mphDec 3110.4 mphDec 1610.1 mphDec 1610.1 mph
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 in Charleston throughout December is predominantly from the north, with a peak proportion of 38% on December 20.

Wind Direction in December in Charleston

Wind Direction in December in CharlestonNWDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%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).

Charleston is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Charleston is gradually decreasing during December, falling by 2°F, from 69°F to 66°F, over the course of the month.

Average Water Temperature in December in Charleston

Average Water Temperature in December in CharlestonDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313160°F60°F62°F62°F64°F64°F66°F66°F68°F68°F70°F70°F72°F72°F74°F74°F76°F76°FNovJanDec 169°FDec 169°FDec 3166°FDec 3166°FDec 1168°FDec 1168°FDec 2167°FDec 2167°F
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 in Charleston typically lasts for 10 months (308 days), from around February 15 to around December 19, rarely starting before January 22 or after March 11, and rarely ending before November 26 or after January 8.

The month of December in Charleston is very likely fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season very rapidly decreasing from 84% to 23% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in Charleston

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December in Charlestongrowing seasonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJan84%Dec 184%Dec 1Dec 3123%Dec 3123%68%Dec 1168%Dec 11Dec 2145%Dec 2145%very coldcoldcoolcomfortablewarmfreezing
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 in Charleston are increasing during December, increasing by 198°F, from 6,329°F to 6,527°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in December in Charleston

Growing Degree Days in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031316,100°F6,100°F6,200°F6,200°F6,300°F6,300°F6,400°F6,400°F6,500°F6,500°F6,600°F6,600°F6,700°F6,700°F6,800°F6,800°FNovJanDec 16,329°FDec 16,329°FDec 316,527°FDec 316,527°FDec 116,404°FDec 116,404°FDec 216,469°FDec 216,469°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 in Charleston is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.1 kWh of 2.9 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during December is 2.8 kWh on December 20.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in Charleston

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December in CharlestonDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.0 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 kWh3.5 kWh3.5 kWh4.0 kWh4.0 kWh4.5 kWh4.5 kWh5.0 kWh5.0 kWhNovJanDec 202.8 kWhDec 202.8 kWhDec 13.0 kWhDec 13.0 kWhDec 312.8 kWhDec 312.8 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 Charleston are 32.777 deg latitude, -79.931 deg longitude, and 20 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Charleston is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 26 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (66 feet). Within 50 miles is essentially flat (509 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Charleston is covered by water (60%), artificial surfaces (27%), and herbaceous vegetation (12%), within 10 miles by artificial surfaces (33%) and water (33%), and within 50 miles by water (50%) and trees (27%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Charleston, 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

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Charleston.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Charleston according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Charleston is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Charleston and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

  • Charleston NAS (KCLX, 60%, 5 mi, north, -13 ft elevation change)
  • Charleston Executive Airport (KJZI, 40%, 7 mi, southwest, -3 ft elevation change)

Sources mapKCLX, 60%5 mi, -13 ftKJZI, 40%7 mi, -3 ft© OpenStreetMap contributors

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Charleston and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

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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