Warmest US Cities in Winter

During December, January and February, large cities with the warmest climates in the United States are in Florida. Just slightly cooler are urban areas along California's Pacific coast and in southern Arizona and Texas.

The season's hottest temperatures are at Florida's southernmost city, Miami.

Nearly every winter day in Miami reaches at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 °C). The city's temperature climbs into the 80s on 40 percent of the days in December, January and February.

These rankings of hottest cities use long-term temperature averages, based on weather data collected from 1981 to 2010 for the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center.

The major cities included in the weather rankings below represent the 51 metropolitan areas in the United States with the most people, all those with over one million residents in 2010, according to the US Census Bureau.

Fourteen of America's large cities average daily temperatures above 50 °F (10 °C) throughout winter.

Large US cities with the highest normal daily mean temperatures in December, January and February

City	Daily Winter Mean
	°F	°C
Miami, Florida	70	21
Tampa, Florida	62	17
Orlando, Florida	62	17
Los Angeles, California	58	15
Phoenix, Arizona	58	14
San Diego, California	57	14
Riverside, California	56	13
New Orleans, Louisiana	55	13
Jacksonville, Florida	55	13
Houston, Texas	55	13
San Antonio, Texas	53	12
Austin, Texas	53	12
San Francisco, California	52	11
San Jose, California	51	11

Highest Winter Temperatures

Seldom do winter temperatures approach 100 °F (37.8 °C) in the US. San Antonio has made it to 100 °F and Austin has reached 99 °F in February.

Normally though, city climates are much cooler than this, even for those two record-setting cities. No major American city has an average daily high temperature above 80 °F (27 °C) throughout the winter months.

US cities with the highest normal daily maximum temperatures in December, January and February

City	Average Daily Maximum
	°F	°C
Miami, Florida	77	25
Orlando, Florida	73	23
Tampa, Florida	72	22
Phoenix, Arizona	69	21
Riverside, California	69	21
Los Angeles, California	68	20
Jacksonville, Florida	67	19
San Diego, California	65	18
San Antonio, Texas	65	18
Houston, Texas	64	18
New Orleans, Louisiana	64	18
Austin, Texas	63	17

Warmest Low Temperatures

While all major US cities have recorded temperatures below 32 °F (0 °C), many remain above freezing for most the winter. Among the largest American cities, fourteen in winter normally stay above 40 °F (4.4 °C).

US cities with the highest normal daily minimum temperatures in December, January and February

City	Average Daily Minimum
	°F	°C
Miami, Florida	62	17
Tampa, Florida	53	12
Orlando, Florida	51	11
San Diego, California	49	10
Los Angeles, California	48	9
New Orleans, Louisiana	47	8
San Francisco, California	46	8
Phoenix, Arizona	46	8
Houston, Texas	45	7
Jacksonville, Florida	43	6
Riverside, California	43	6
Austin, Texas	43	6
San Jose, California	43	6
San Antonio, Texas	42	6