Okay, let me walk you through how I figured out the warmest spots in the US for December. The cold was really starting to bite here, you know? Like, proper chills getting into your bones. I just had this urge to find somewhere, anywhere, in the States where I could feel some sun on my face without freezing my nose off.
So, the first thing I did, naturally, was just start searching around online. Simple stuff, like “warm places US december” or “winter sun destinations USA”. You get a ton of results, obviously. Lots of travel blogs, weather sites, the usual suspects.
My initial thoughts immediately went to the classic places. Florida, right? That’s the go-to for escaping winter for many folks on the East Coast. And then California, especially Southern California. Arizona popped into my head too, thinking about places like Phoenix.
But just knowing the state isn’t enough, is it? California’s huge! North is way different than the south in December. Florida Keys are different than Jacksonville. So, I started digging a bit deeper. I wasn’t just looking for names; I wanted to get a feel for the actual temperatures. Like, what are the average highs? Does it get freezing cold the minute the sun goes down? Is it gonna rain all the time?
I spent a good chunk of time looking at average temps for December across different cities. Not super scientific, mind you, just comparing numbers I found on various weather info pages. It’s easy to get lost in the numbers, but patterns started showing up.
Cities That Kept Popping Up
After scrolling through a bunch of pages and comparing notes, a few places consistently ranked high for warmth:
- Miami, Florida: No big surprise here. It constantly showed up with highs often in the mid-70s Fahrenheit (around 24C). Feels properly warm. Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are right there too, pretty similar vibe.
- The Florida Keys: Even further south, places like Key West often boast even warmer temps, sometimes touching the high 70s (like 25-26C). Pretty tropical feel.
- Phoenix, Arizona: This one was interesting. It’s desert heat, so it gets warm during the day, often low 70s (around 22C), but it cools down quite a bit at night. Very sunny though, which was a big plus for me. Tucson is similar.
- Los Angeles & San Diego, California: Southern California is definitely milder than up north. Highs often hit the mid-to-upper 60s (around 18-20C), sometimes low 70s. Not exactly tropical heat like Miami, but way better than snow! Very pleasant for being outdoors during the day.
- Honolulu, Hawaii: Okay, this one’s kind of cheating because it’s Hawaii, but technically it’s the US! It’s properly warm, like low 80s (around 27-28C). If you can swing the trip, it’s guaranteed warmth.
What I realized is that “warmest” depends on what you’re after. If you want proper beach weather and maybe even a swim, South Florida or Hawaii are your best bets. If you want pleasant, sunny days for hiking or just walking around without a heavy coat, then Southern California and Arizona are fantastic options. They might feel a bit cool in the evenings, though.
So yeah, that was my little research project. Started with feeling cold, did some digging online, compared the usual suspects, and ended up with a pretty good list. For me, just seeing average highs in the 70s for Miami got me dreaming. Definitely beats scraping ice off the windshield!
