Anyone who has tried to plan a winter escape knows the feeling: every forecast site points at a different number. In Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria — a beach resort on the island’s southwest coast — December is good news, with average highs around 22°C in the official normals (AEMET, Spain’s state meteorological agency); this guide sorts the reliable figures from the guesswork, explains why this corner stays mild when the north clouds over, and shows how much to trust a 14-day forecast.

4 related posts

Average December high: 22°C ·
Average December sea temp: 20°C ·
Warmest area in winter: South and southwest coast ·
Rain risk period: November to February ·
Best months for dry, settled weather: May to October

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • December mean at Gran Canaria Airport: 19.2°C (AEMET climate normals)
  • Puerto Rico is a resort in Mogán, southwest Gran Canaria — not the Caribbean territory — and December sea near the resort is about 21°C (Thomas Cook holiday guide)
2What’s unclear
3Timeline signal
  • December to February: winter sun season; the south coast stays mild (AEMET normals)
  • June to August: hottest and driest window
  • September to November: sea stays warm; rain risk builds from November
4What’s next
  • Check live conditions via Yr.no or the UK Met Office
  • Use a Puerto Rico-specific forecast, not an island-wide one
  • For December warmth, book the southwest band

Key facts at a glance

Ten rows, one pattern: December on the southwest coast is mild, moderately dry, and backed by both official and operator data.

Metric Value
Location Puerto Rico, Mogán, southwest Gran Canaria
Climate type Subtropical with a sheltered southern microclimate
December mean (airport normals) 19.2°C (AEMET)
December mean maximum (airport) 22.2°C (AEMET)
December mean minimum (airport) 16.2°C (AEMET)
December afternoon high in the resort About 21°C (Thomas Cook)
December sea temperature 20–21°C (Thomas Cook)
December rainfall About 5 mm in the resort (TUI) to 20 mm (Thomas Cook); 31 mm at the airport (AEMET)
December sunshine 179 hours at the airport — about 6 hours a day (AEMET)
Primary forecast sources AEMET, UK Met Office holiday weather, Yr.no live forecasts

The pattern: resort numbers and airport normals agree within a degree or two — which is exactly why December weather here is more predictable than the forecast apps make it look.

Which part of Gran Canaria is warmest in December?

The southern flank, from Puerto Rico in the southwest around to Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés, is the warmest part of the island in December. The reason is topography, not luck: Gran Canaria’s mountain spine blocks the cooler, cloudier air that arrives from the north, leaving southern resorts in a drier, sunnier shadow.

Official normals back that up. At Gran Canaria Airport, AEMET — Spain’s state meteorological agency — records a December mean of 19.2°C, a mean maximum of 22.2°C and a mean minimum of 16.2°C (1981–2010 normals). Tour operators put the resort itself in the same range: Thomas Cook lists a 19°C average with an afternoon high of about 21°C, while TUI gives 18–22°C for December daytime.

  • Rain shadow: TUI logs about 5 mm of December rain in Puerto Rico, while AEMET records 31 mm at the airport — the mountains wring out the clouds (TUI weather guide; AEMET normals)
  • December sunshine: 179 hours at the airport (AEMET normals) — roughly six hours a day
  • South-coast resorts get more winter sun than Las Palmas and northern coastal towns
Why this matters

The rain gap is the smoking gun. When TUI records about 5 mm for the resort and AEMET logs 31 mm at the airport, the mountain shadow is doing exactly what the geography says it should — sheltering the southwest.

Which Canary island is hottest now?

  • Gran Canaria’s south coast is a reliable winter contender because the same mountain shelter protects it
  • “Hottest island” changes with daily cloud cover, so live station data settles the argument better than island averages
  • Yr.no and the UK Met Office both publish station-level forecasts you can compare island by island

In practice, the question matters less than it seems: the Canaries share the same trade-wind weather machine, and the warm spot on any given day is usually the spot with the least cloud.

What this means: “warmest in Gran Canaria” is really code for the southern flank. Book the southwest and you stack the December deck in your favour; book the north and you are gambling on cloud.

Bottom line: The south and southwest coast is the warmest part of Gran Canaria in December because the central mountains block northern cloud and wind. For a winter-sun traveller, Puerto Rico and Maspalomas beat northern resorts on most December days.

The pattern: the south-coast shelter is fixed even when the daily winner moves; that is why the southwest is the safe December bet.

What is the best time to go to Gran Canaria?

For heat, the dry season wins; for a warm short break, winter works; for value, the shoulder months beat both. The island has real seasons — they are just milder than northern Europe’s.

  • May to October: the driest, hottest window for beach days
  • December to February: mild winter sun — December highs near 22°C at the airport and the sea near 20–21°C (AEMET; Thomas Cook)
  • March to May and September to November: quieter weeks and lower prices, with rain risk building from November

The two factors that actually affect a winter booking are rain and wind. Gran Canaria’s rainy season generally runs from November to February; AEMET’s December normals — 31 mm across about 4.5 wet days — show that “winter rain” here is usually short and patchy, not day-ruining.

What is the rainiest month in Gran Canaria?

  • The wetter months cluster between November and February (AEMET normals)
  • December is not a washout: AEMET logs only about 4.5 rain days at the airport (AEMET)
  • Resort estimates vary — TUI puts Puerto Rico near 5 mm (TUI), Thomas Cook near 20 mm (Thomas Cook) — the gap is year-to-year variability

The honest answer is that Gran Canaria’s rain is patchy: a shower passes, the clouds move on, and the sun returns. The rainiest month in any given year depends on the storm track.

What is the windiest month in Gran Canaria?

  • Trade winds are strongest in summer, especially on exposed coastal stretches
  • Puerto Rico’s southwest bay cuts the impact of the prevailing breeze
  • December wind in Puerto Rico averages around 12 mph (Thomas Cook) — noticeable, but rarely gale-force

Winter wind is rarely the problem visitors fear. The summer trade wind is the one that makes wide, open beaches feel blowy; sheltered bays dodge most of it.

What is the cheapest month to go to the Canaries?

  • Prices rise around Christmas and school holidays
  • Late spring and autumn, outside holiday windows, usually offer better value
  • Early December and late January sit in the value gap before and after the Christmas rush

If warmth is the goal and price is the constraint, early December is hard to beat: December-level temperatures, pre-holiday prices and only the first hints of winter rain.

The trade-off: winter delivers warm days and a January tan, but you pay more for Christmas week and accept the odd shower. Late April to June typically gives the best weather per pound.

Bottom line: May to October is the most reliable window for dry heat, but December stays warm enough for a beach holiday on the southwest coast. Budget travellers: aim for early December or late January, and plan for Christmas-week prices to run higher.

The pattern: the cheapest warm week usually sits in the calm before Christmas or after New Year, when weather and prices both tilt in your favour.

How hot is it in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria today?

Today’s exact number changes, but today’s range is predictable. Winter daytime highs in Puerto Rico normally sit between 20°C and 24°C, with Thomas Cook putting the typical December afternoon high at about 21°C (Thomas Cook holiday weather guide). In summer, the resort runs noticeably hotter than the northern coast, with afternoon temperatures around 28–32°C.

  • For the live figure — current temperature, wind, humidity, cloud cover, visibility and pressure — check Yr.no or the UK Met Office; both publish Puerto Rico-level data
  • Use the official normals as the sanity check: December mean 19.2°C, mean maximum 22.2°C (AEMET)
The catch

Check the south-coast station, not the island headline. When cloud banks sit over Las Palmas, Puerto Rico’s bay can stay clear and warm — the southwest really is a separate weather pocket.

What is the weather in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria for the next 10 days?

  • Forecast confidence is highest in the first 3–5 days
  • A 10-day outlook works best as a rain-risk early warning, not an hourly plan
  • A Puerto Rico-specific forecast beats a general Gran Canaria one, because the resort’s microclimate differs from the north

What you are really checking on day 7–10 is whether a wet or windy spell is likely — not the exact maximum for a specific beach afternoon.

The implication: “how hot today” in Puerto Rico is easy to answer when you use a resort-level feed and read the 3-day window. Everything beyond that is context, not certainty.

What is the weather forecast for Gran Canaria for the next two weeks?

A two-week forecast for Gran Canaria looks impressive — day after day of sun icons with the odd cloud. The honest reading is less flashy and more useful: forecast confidence is highest in the first 3–5 days, and beyond that you are tracking a trend, not a timetable.

  • Days 1–5: model agreement is strong; use this window for beach and excursion decisions
  • Days 6–10: watch for rain signals and wind shifts, but do not change plans on a single model run
  • Days 11–14: expect a general pattern — settled or unsettled — not exact daytime highs
  • Trade winds and the Atlantic Ocean are the main influences behind all of it
The catch

14-day forecasts are averages dressed as specifics. By day 10, the model is telling you a range — warm and dry versus unsettled — not the exact high for a beach day.

What is the 30-day weather forecast for Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria?

  • A 30-day outlook is a season-preview trend signal, not a daily diary
  • The honest baseline is the climate data: AEMET’s normals — 19.2°C mean, 31 mm of rain, 179 hours of sun — define what December in Puerto Rico actually is (AEMET)
  • Use the 30-day view to sense whether a week will be warmer or wetter than usual, then confirm with the 5-day forecast before you commit

Treat a long-range forecast the way you would treat a friend’s holiday story: directionally useful, factually unreliable at the edges.

Why this matters: the distance between a reliable 5-day forecast and a fuzzy 14-day one is the distance between a confident beach-day plan and a vague week-ahead guess. Gran Canaria’s climate data is the forecast you can fully trust in advance.

Bottom line: For a traveller booking from the UK or Europe, the 5-day window is reliable enough to plan around; 14-day and 30-day forecasts are trend signals only. Use AEMET’s normals as the anchor and keep the November-to-February rain-risk calendar in mind.

The pattern: short-range detail and long-range trend are different products — use each for what it can actually do.

Which is the hottest resort on Gran Canaria?

Puerto Rico, Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés all sit in the island’s warm southern band, and on many winter days they are within a degree of each other. The daily winner is decided by cloud and wind, not by geography-wide reputation.

  • Puerto Rico: sheltered southwest bay; December averages of 19°C (Thomas Cook) and 20°C (TUI)
  • Maspalomas: south-facing, in the same warm band; can equal Puerto Rico on clear, still days
  • Playa del Inglés: same southern band; cloud and wind decide its daily ranking

The phrase “hottest resort” oversells the gap. On a still, cloudless day, any of the three can top the list. On a breezy day, Puerto Rico’s bay usually feels warmest because the shelter keeps the wind off.

How does Puerto Rico compare with Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés in winter?

  • Puerto Rico faces south and sits inside a natural bay, which reduces wind
  • Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés are in the same warm band and can be equally hot on many days
  • South-coast resorts get more winter sunshine than Las Palmas and northern coastal towns

The deciding factors are daily cloud and wind, so the “hottest resort” title rotates. What does not rotate is the regional advantage: the southern band beats the north on most December days.

The trade-off: Puerto Rico gives up the wide Atlantic views of the open resorts in exchange for a sheltered bay — and in December, shelter usually feels like heat.

South-coast resorts compared

Three resorts, one pattern: the winner on warmth is the one that catches the least wind on the day you check.

Winter metric Puerto Rico (southwest) Maspalomas (south) Playa del Inglés (southern band)
Coast and setting Resort in Mogán, set in a sheltered bay (Thomas Cook) Southern warm band Southern warm band
December daytime peak About 21°C afternoon high (Thomas Cook) Can match Puerto Rico on clear days; airport normals: 22.2°C mean max (AEMET) Can match Puerto Rico on clear days
December night low About 16°C (Thomas Cook) Mid-teens; airport normals: 16.2°C mean min (AEMET) Mid-teens
December rain risk About 5 mm (TUI) to 20 mm (Thomas Cook) Same storm track; airport normals: 31 mm (AEMET) Same storm track
Wind shelter Bay shelter keeps the breeze down Daily cloud and wind decide comfort Daily cloud and wind decide comfort

The pattern: none of the three clearly out-heats the others across a whole winter. Puerto Rico’s edge is consistency — the bay keeps wind and temperature steadier, while the two open resorts depend more on the day’s cloud luck.

December in Puerto Rico: the trade-offs

Two lists capture the decision better than any single temperature reading.

Upsides

  • Daytime highs near 21°C while northern Europe shivers (Thomas Cook)
  • Sheltered southwest bay keeps wind lower than open beaches
  • Sea still around 20–21°C (Thomas Cook)
  • 179 hours of December sunshine — about six hours a day (AEMET)

Downsides

  • Rain risk rises from November to February
  • Nights cool to about 16°C — you will want a layer (Thomas Cook)
  • Christmas and school-holiday weeks push prices up
  • A 14-day forecast can drift; the first 5 days are the reliable core

The verdict: pack a light jacket, skip Christmas week if you are price-sensitive, and the bay gives you the best December odds on the island.

Gran Canaria’s weather year at a glance

One look at the seasonal rhythm explains most planning questions: the south coast stays mild all year, and the trade wind provides the only real variation.

  • December to February: Winter sun season — the south coast remains mild while northern parts of Gran Canaria can be cloudier (Thomas Cook’s December guide)
  • March to May: Spring warms up with less rain; shoulder-season travellers find quieter weeks
  • June to August: Hottest and driest months; trade winds are strongest on exposed coasts
  • September to November: Sea temperatures stay warm — Thomas Cook still logs about 21°C in December (Thomas Cook) — while rainfall risk increases from November

The implication: there is no bad month on the southwest coast — only different trade-offs: winter showers, summer breeze, and spring as the quiet sweet spot.

What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

Sorting stone-cold facts from seasonal guesswork is the difference between a great December and a frustrating one.

Confirmed facts

  • Puerto Rico is a beach resort in Mogán on Gran Canaria’s southwest coast — not the Caribbean territory of the same name (Thomas Cook)
  • Gran Canaria’s mountains create a drier, sheltered microclimate on the south coast — visible in TUI’s roughly 5 mm (TUI) versus AEMET’s 31 mm of December rain at the airport (AEMET)
  • December daytime highs on the south coast commonly reach the low 20s Celsius — AEMET records a 22.2°C mean maximum (AEMET) and Thomas Cook lists an afternoon high near 21°C (Thomas Cook)

What’s unclear

  • The absolute hottest resort on any given day: local cloud and wind decide, so the title rotates
  • How much December rain will actually fall in a given year: TUI estimates about 5 mm (TUI), Thomas Cook about 20 mm (Thomas Cook)
  • What a 14-day or 30-day forecast is really promising: useful as a trend, unreliable as a day-by-day plan

The pattern: the confirmed facts all carry official or operator data behind them; the unclear items all depend on a single day’s weather. Plan around the first list and you will be fine.

What the sources say

Three independent voices — a national meteorological agency and two holiday operators — describe the same December. Convergent data is the most reliable forecast there is.

December at Gran Canaria Airport, 1981–2010 normals: a 19.2°C mean temperature, a 22.2°C mean maximum, a 16.2°C mean minimum, 31 mm of rainfall across about 4.5 wet days, and 179 hours of sunshine.

— AEMET, Spain’s state meteorological agency

Puerto Rico’s December looks like this: an average of 19°C, afternoon highs near 21°C, nights around 16°C, roughly 20 mm of rain, and an Atlantic that still holds about 21°C of warmth.

— Thomas Cook holiday weather guide, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

December days in Puerto Rico generally range from 18°C to 22°C, and rainfall is sparse — light or scattered showers, not sustained wet weather.

— TUI weather guide, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria

The convergence: three separate sources put a December day in Puerto Rico in the high teens to low 20s. That consistency is the only forecast you can truly bank on.

For a December break, Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria is the southwest-coast bet that usually pays: shelter from the trade winds, daytime highs near 21°C, a sea near 20°C, and official normals that refuse to embarrass you. The risk sits in the calendar — November-to-February rain and Christmas-week prices — not in the climate. For a winter-sun traveller on a budget, the choice is clear: book the southwest coast in early December or late January for the best balance of warmth and value, or settle for a northern resort where cloud can spoil the shorts weather you came for.

Additional sources

aemet.es, aemet.es, aemet.es, aemet.es, aemet.es, aemet.es

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Frequently asked questions

Is Puerto Rico in Gran Canaria the same place as Puerto Rico in the Caribbean?

No. Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria is a beach resort in the municipality of Mogán on the island’s southwest coast. The Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico shares only the name — it is tropical, and in December it is substantially warmer and wetter than its Gran Canaria namesake.

What is the weather in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria in November?

November is the transition month when Gran Canaria’s rainy season starts. Days stay mild — close to the December normals of a 19.2°C mean and 22.2°C mean maximum at the airport (AEMET, Spain’s state meteorological agency) — with occasional showers and the first cloudy spells.

How warm is the sea around Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria in winter?

Thomas Cook’s guide estimates the December Atlantic temperature near Puerto Rico at about 21°C. In the bay’s sheltered water, that is still comfortable for a winter swim on a sunny day.

How many hours of sunshine does Gran Canaria get in December?

AEMET’s 1981–2010 normals record 179 hours of December sunshine at Gran Canaria Airport — just under six hours a day on average, and the southern resorts usually see the best of it.

What should I pack for a winter trip to Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria?

Light layers for warm December days, a warmer jacket for cooler evenings, a lightweight rain shell for the odd shower, and sun protection — AEMET logs 179 hours of December sunshine, and that is real UV.

Is Gran Canaria hot in December?

Warm rather than scorching. Official normals put the December mean at 19.2°C and the mean maximum at 22.2°C, and the sheltered southwest coast turns that into comfortable beach weather on most days.

Bottom line: The pattern: the answers all point back to the same distinction — Puerto Rico’s southwest microclimate, not the island’s headline forecast, determines how a December day feels.

Related reading

Bottom line: The pattern: the two guides work best in sequence — climate facts first, then the resort-level forecast.