What to pack for New York in December

December in New York is colder than the forecast suggests and involves more walking than you plan for. The packing list that works follows from those two facts and not much else.

The weather, in numbers

• Average high: around 7°C
• Average low: around 0°C
• Below freezing on a good share of nights, and some days never get above it
• Rain and snow both happen, often as sleet, which is the worst of the two
• Daylight ends around 4.30pm, so half your sightseeing is in the dark and the cold at once

The temperature is not the problem. The wind is. Manhattan's avenues run north to south in a straight line between tall buildings, so wind accelerates down them. A 2°C day on Sixth Avenue feels considerably colder than 2°C somewhere with bends in the streets.

The list that matters

Shoes you can stand in for six hours. Not the warmest, not the smartest: the ones your feet survive. Visitors routinely walk 15 to 20 kilometres a day here without meaning to. Waterproof helps, because slush at kerbs is ankle deep and crossings are where it pools.

Layers, not one big coat. You go from minus two in the street to overheated in a museum, a subway car or a shop, ten times a day. A coat you cannot adjust is worse than a thinner one over a jumper.

A hat and gloves that work with a touchscreen. You will use your phone constantly for maps and tickets, and taking a glove off every time at zero degrees is the small misery that defines a trip.

A power bank. The thing most people get wrong. Cold roughly halves what a battery delivers: a phone showing 40 per cent can shut down in the street at minus two, and it does it suddenly rather than gradually.

That matters more in New York than elsewhere, because the subway now takes payment straight from your phone. A flat battery is not only no map, it is no ticket home.

A scarf. Unglamorous, and the single most effective thing against avenue wind.

What to leave out

An umbrella that is not strong. Wind here destroys cheap umbrellas within the day, and the streets are full of their corpses in bins. A hood is better.

Formal clothes, unless you have booked somewhere that requires them. Almost nowhere does.

Too many outfits. You will wear the same warm things repeatedly and use the space for what you bought.

One phone note

Keep the phone in an inside pocket, against your body, not in the outside pocket of your coat. That one habit is the difference between a phone that lasts the day and one that dies at four o'clock, because the battery's problem is temperature rather than use.

If your phone is also carrying your travel data plan and your subway fare, it is doing three jobs that all stop at once when it goes flat. The fix is a power bank in the bag, not a bigger phone.

Quick answers

How cold is New York in December?

Highs around 7°C, lows around 0°C, and colder in the wind. The avenues funnel it, so it feels harsher than the same temperature at home.

Does it snow in New York in December?

Sometimes, but sleet and cold rain are more common than picture-postcard snow. Waterproof shoes matter more than snow boots.

What shoes should I bring?

The ones you can stand and walk in all day, waterproof if possible. You will walk far more than you expect, and the slush at kerbs is where feet get wet.

Do I really need a power bank?

Yes, more than in a warm city. Cold cuts battery life sharply, and a phone that is also your map and your subway fare is a single point of failure when it dies.