South Lake Tahoe weather in December
Temperature, rain and sunshine in December: long-term averages from 30 years of weather data, not a forecast.
Holiday weather in December
Poor
Best time to visit: May – October
Best for skiing: January – March
What is the weather like in South Lake Tahoe in December?
In December, South Lake Tahoe is cold: daytime highs average 3 °C, and nights often drop below freezing (−4 °C). Expect around 4 hours of sunshine a day. Precipitation, often as snow, falls on about 10 days, totalling 103 mm. Snow falls on about 8 days. All in all, December is not an ideal month for a holiday in South Lake Tahoe.
December compared
How the weather changes from November to January. Tap a month to open it.
| NovemberNov | DecemberDec | JanuaryJan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | 41 | 23 | 26 |
| Day | 8° | 3° | 3° |
| Night | 0° | −4° | −3° |
| Sun | 5 h | 4 h | 5 h |
| Rain days | 7 | 10 | 9 |
More details for December
- Daylight
- 9 h 28 min07:11 – 16:39
- UV index
- 2 · lowclear sky, noon (estimate)All months
- Muggy days
- 0 daysdew point 18 °C or moreAll months
- Wind
- 10 km/haverage daily peakAll months
- Cloud cover
- 65 %on averageAll months
- Hot days
- 0 days30 °C or moreAll months
- Snow days
- 8 days1 cm or more of fresh snowAll months
- Time zone
- UTC−8America/Los_Angeles
How the score comes together
- Temperatureweight 50 %0 %
- Sunshineweight 20 %23 %
- Few rainy daysweight 30 %61 %
Each factor is rated from 0 to 100 % and weighted for the travel style “Mountain air”.
What to pack in December
- Warm jacket
- Hat, scarf & gloves
- Rain jacket or umbrella
South Lake Tahoe in December: quick answers
Is South Lake Tahoe hot in December?
No. In December, South Lake Tahoe is cold: daytime highs average 3 °C and nights drop to about −4 °C.
Does it rain much in South Lake Tahoe in December?
Rain is frequent, with about 10 rainy days and 103 mm in total.
South Lake Tahoe month by month
The whole year in South Lake TahoeAll destinations: USAWhere to go in December
Climate averages 1996–2025, not a forecast. Data: Copernicus ERA5 / ERA5-Land via Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0), NOAA OISST, WMO 1991–2020 (NOAA NCEI), GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Sources & licences