Glasgow weather in December
December in Glasgow: cold, rainy, with clean air — one of the weakest months to visit.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#12 of 12 months in Glasgow · #1243 of 1413 destinations to visit in December · comfort 46/100 (tier F)
- Days
- 8°C
- Nights
- 2°C
- Wet days
- 17
- Sun
- 2.2 h
- Humidity
- 91%
- Daylight
- 7 h

Traveller notes on Glasgow in December
Notes from nearby Oban (97 km away)
Glasgow doesn't have its own notes for December yet — these are about Oban, close enough to share the season.
Forum posters describe December in Oban and the wider Scottish Highlands as cold, damp and short on daylight - on a cloudy, rainy day it can feel like it barely gets light at all. Posters are direct that this isn't the tourist season, with a number of B&Bs and smaller businesses closing for the winter while their owners take their own holiday. Posters visiting nearby islands warn that up to 16 hours of darkness calls for real wet-weather gear, patience for cold and wet conditions, and something to keep you entertained indoors. Posters do note Oban itself holds up better than more remote spots thanks to its shops, bars and restaurants offering somewhere to spend the long evening hours. Posters generally rate December as genuinely challenging weather-wise for Oban, workable as a town base even if outlying island day trips become more of a gamble.
Other months in Glasgow
Regulars describe genuinely opposite real experiences within the same month - one visitor's back two weeks were glorious with just a couple of showery days, another reported rain most days of their trip - and are consistent this marks the first real sign of autumn, capable of swinging between warm sunny stretches and pretty severe storms. Our row backs the cool, wet read, 16.7C over 8.4C nights feeling 7C, with a real 94.6mm of rain across 14.5 days. Regulars are reassuring on two fronts at least: it almost certainly won't snow and almost certainly won't exceed 30C, narrowing the real range even if the day-to-day outcome stays a genuine toss-up. The record: humidity 84 percent, 6.7 hours of sun, a 19.5 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 31.
Regulars are candid that this is technically one of Scotland's warmest months yet still genuinely wet, and that the city itself sees more rain than the drier east side of the country - unpredictability that regulars say doesn't stop people coming and having a good time regardless. Our row backs the wet read directly, a real 105mm of rain across a striking 16.9 days, alongside mild warmth, 18.7C reading as 17C, over 10.6C nights. Humidity sits high at 83 percent, giving even a dry hour a damp, cool-feeling edge rather than a crisp one. Regulars' practical takeaway is to plan indoor backups for any single day rather than assume the warmest month means reliably dry. The record: 8.5 hours of sun, an 18.6 kph wind and one of the cleanest air readings in this project, AQI 29.
Regulars offer May as better odds rather than a promise: a fair share of dry, sunny days, longer light than almost any month, and fewer visitors than high summer - but it will rain at some point and nobody can say when or how much. It might be glorious and in the low twenties or cold, wet and windy. Our row sits at the sober end, 16.2C days feeling like 14C over 6.5C nights, with 71.7mm across 12.7 days. The compensation is 16.3 hours of daylight. Layers and a waterproof outer, as ever here. The record: humidity 77 percent, 10 hours of sun, a 17.9 kph wind and AQI 39.
Glasgow-forum threads on June packing are blunt: the weather could be lovely and sunny or could be raining most of the time, and it can shift between the two within a few hours - bright sun, sleet, cloud and bright sun again, all in one afternoon. The standing kit is short and long sleeves both, a lightweight jacket plus a separate waterproof hooded rain jacket, waterproof boots (trainers mean cold wet feet), and a jumper with hat and gloves for anywhere windy. The record matches the unpredictable read more than any single forecast: 18.4C days, 9.6C nights, 93mm of rain across nearly sixteen days and ten hours of sun, against seventeen and a half hours of daylight to actually use between the showers.
Add your own note from Glasgow's card on the map.
Glasgow climate normals — December
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Glasgow in December
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Peak crowdsChristmas lights and market, Christmas holidays in United Kingdom, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Glasgow's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Toughest weatherGlasgow's weather peaks May–July.
Best weatherFair weatherToughest weather
What's on in Glasgow in December
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Festival
Christmas lights and market
15 Nov – 31 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedThe lights go on in mid-November and the markets run in George Square and St Enoch until the new year. Dark by four, which flatters the sandstone more than daylight does. Source ↗
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Glasgow — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Glasgow?
Glasgow in December — FAQ
- Is December a good time to visit Glasgow?
- December in Glasgow: cold, rainy, with clean air — one of the weakest months to visit. It ranks #12 of 12 months for Glasgow on SeasonMap's comfort score (46/100).
- What is the weather like in Glasgow in December?
- In December, Glasgow averages a daily high of 7.6°C and a low of 1.9°C, with about 117.7 mm of rain over roughly 16.5 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Glasgow in December?
- Glasgow has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 33 in December.
- Does it snow in Glasgow in December?
- Glasgow sees roughly 3.9 cm of snowfall in December.
Within 300 km: Edinburgh's Christmas market around 15 Nov – 4 Jan, and Keswick's Keswick Victorian Fayre around 1–10 Dec.