Early December 1 December
50°F
Typical afternoon high
35% historical wet-day frequency
North Macedonia · Countryside
North Macedonia
in December.
Is December a good time?
Cool days.
Fewer overnight stays than November.
December averages 48°F afternoons, with about 7 rain days. Later December is typically cooler.
- Afternoons
- 48°F
- Rain days
- 7
- Visitor demand
- 31%of August peak
Historical Severna Makedonija regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Ohrid and Skopje; conditions vary within the region.
Overall match
7.5/10 · scores & prioritiesWhat matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
#9 of 12 months here · Balanced mix
Weather5.5/10Good
CrowdsLow seasonvs its own year; overnight stays do not measure queuesFor its size, quieter than most of Europe this month
CostCheapfor Europe; North Macedonia-wide price level
Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.
Plan your December
What to expect.
What should I pack?
Afternoons around 48°F (9°C): a sweater and a light jacket. About 9 hours of daylight. About 7 rain days in a typical December.
A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details
About 9 hours of daylight.
The sun rises about 06:53 and sets about 16:04 (local time, mid-month). Afternoons reach about 48°F (9°C). Expect rain on about 7 days in a typical December.
Typical afternoon
48°F (9°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Decembers
Night low
—
not shown here: our correction of the model data isn't accurate enough for night lows in this region
Daylight
9h 11m
on the 15th, computed from latitude
Early, middle or late?
Early or late December?
Early December is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 50°F on the 1st, versus 47°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 35% to 21% between those dates.
Mid December 15 December
48°F
Typical afternoon high
23% historical wet-day frequency
Late December 31 December
47°F
Typical afternoon high
21% historical wet-day frequency
Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.
Daily calendar & holiday datesDecember 2026 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar
December 2026 calendar
Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2026.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150° | 250° | 349° | 449° | 549° | 649° | |
| 749° | 849° | 949° | 1049° | 1149° | 1249° | 1348° |
| 1448° | 1548° | 1648° | 1748° | 1848° | 1948° | 2048° |
| 2148° | 2248° | 2348° | 2448° | 2547° | 2647° | 2747° |
| 2847° | 2947° | 3047° | 3147° |
Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event
School-holiday dates for December 2026 aren't available in our data yet. A day without a school marker doesn't mean schools are open.
Afternoons cool from about 49°F (10°C) in the first week to 47°F (9°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 16–37%.
Elsewhere in December 2026, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: France 39%, Germany 29%, Italy 35%, Spain 32%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Crowds and cost
Visitor season
Will it be busy?
Low season. December averages 31% of August's overnight stays per day. Fewer overnight stays than November.
Overnight stays across Severna Makedonija do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights. For its size, quieter than most of Europe this month.
Hotel price season
Will it be cheaper?
A little above usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.
Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.
North Macedonia as a whole
Well below EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 50 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.
Year-to-year variation
How much does December vary?
Across the recorded years
In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 44°F (7°C) and 53°F (12°C); in 8 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 48°F (9°C). Rain days ranged from 0 to 14; half the years had 6–10.
Rain days in each December
Rain days
7
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 11 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
7 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no December in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
10 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded DecemberHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
| Year | Afternoon high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 47°F | 7 |
| 2012 | 44°F | 11 |
| 2013 | 48°F | 3 |
| 2014 | 48°F | 11 |
| 2015 | 51°F | 0 |
| 2016 | 45°F | 1 |
| 2017 | 48°F | 10 |
| 2018 | 45°F | 7 |
| 2019 | 49°F | 9 |
| 2020 | 51°F | 8 |
| 2021 | 46°F | 9 |
| 2022 | 53°F | 7 |
| 2023 | 52°F | 7 |
| 2024 | 47°F | 14 |
| 2025 | 50°F | 6 |
Checked against official climate averages for Skopje-Petrovec. How we check
Compare dates
November, December
or January?
| Typical conditions | Nov | Dec | Jan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 57°F | 48°F | 45°F |
| Rain days | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Overnight demand | 42% | 31% | 27% |
November: Warmer afternoons than December. More overnight demand. November guide →
January: Cooler afternoons than December. Less overnight demand. January guide →
Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.
Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with December Show comparisonHide comparison
Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. December stays as your reference.
March has a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than December, without a substantially busier visitor season.
Your comparison
December or November?
Overnight stays are 42% of the busiest month.
National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest a little above usual. No measured regional room rate is available.
Read the November guide →| Typical conditions | December | November |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoons | 48°F | 57°F |
| Nights | — | — |
| Rain days | 7 | 8 |
| Visitor season | Low season | Moderate season |
| Overall / 10 | 7.5 | 7.8 |
| Month rank | #9 | #7 |
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
| Month | Overall | Rank | High | Low | Rain days | Weather | Visitor season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.1 | #12 | 45°F | — | 8 | 5.1 | Low season |
| February | 7.8 | #8 | 51°F | — | 6 | 5.8 | Low season |
| March | 8.3 | #5 | 58°F | — | 9 | 6.7 | Low season |
| April | 8.8 | #2 | 67°F | — | 7 | 8.5 | Moderate season |
| May | 8.8 | #1 | 75°F | — | 9 | 9.2 | Busy season |
| June | 8.1 | #6 | 85°F | — | 6 | 8.5 | Busy season |
| July | 7.2 | #10 | 90°F | — | 4 | 7.9 | Peak season |
| August | 7.1 | #11 | 90°F | — | 3 | 8.0 | Peak season |
| September | 8.4 | #4 | 80°F | — | 4 | 9.3 | Busy season |
| October | 8.7 | #3 | 68°F | — | 5 | 8.9 | Moderate season |
| November | 7.8 | #7 | 57°F | — | 8 | 6.4 | Moderate season |
| December | 7.5 | #9 | 48°F | — | 7 | 5.5 | Low season |
Near here
Nearby places in December
Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.
Western MacedoniaGreece · about 90 miles
Balanced Overall 6.4 · Good weather, 49°F (9°C) · Busy season · Cost moderate
Thessaloniki & HalkidikiGreece · about 90 miles
Balanced Overall 4.8 · Poor weather, 54°F (12°C) · Off season · Cost cheap
Sofia & the southwestBulgaria · about 100 miles
Balanced Overall 6.7 · Good weather, 46°F (8°C) · Steady all year · Cost cheap
Montenegroabout 150 miles
Balanced Overall 5.9 · Good weather, 51°F (10°C) · Off season · Cost cheap
Šumadija & western Serbiaabout 170 miles
Balanced Overall 7.1 · Good weather, 46°F (8°C) · Moderate season · Cost cheap
Elsewhere in Europe
Better December weather than North Macedonia
North Macedonia's weather ranks 13 of 117 countryside regions this month. These countryside regions outside North Macedonia have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with North Macedonia.
Castilla-La ManchaSpain · about 1300 miles
Good weather (6.7): 6°F warmer afternoons, 3 fewer rain days, busier for its season (moderate season), pricier
ExtremaduraSpain · about 1470 miles
Very good weather (7.1): 10°F warmer afternoons, busier for its season (moderate season), pricier
AlentejoPortugal · about 1580 miles
Very good weather (7.6): 13°F warmer afternoons, pricier
How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details
It's low season, 31% of the busiest month and 43% below its average month. That means about 3,300 overnight visitors on a typical December night across the region, 36% of them from North Macedonia itself.
| Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100) | 63 |
| How our weather was checked | Official climate averages for Skopje-Petrovec from the national weather service, every month: afternoon highs typically within 3°F (1.6°C), night lows off by more than 4°F (2°C), so not shown. |
| Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day | 2 |
| Busiest month here | August · 6 |
| Visitors as share of people present | 0.2% |
| Rank among Europe's regions this month | 2nd percentile |
| Domestic share of nights | 36% |
| Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights | — |
| Visitor share if every platform night were extra | — |
| National hotel-price season | North Macedonia historical 2024–2025 index: A little above usual (+5% vs its average month). Not a local room quote. |
| Population used | 1.8 million |
| Statistical region | MK00 · Severna Makedonija |
Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2023–2024 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: no complete matching Eurostat platform-rental year is available here. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.