Invercargill weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Invercargill is February — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 54/100), with January and March close behind. Invercargill averages about 1,949 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 17°C / 63°F and roughly 97 mm of rain in February.
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- Sun hours / year
- 1,949
- Sunniest month
- February
- Peak score
- 54/100
- Rain / year
- 1,256 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 8 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 16°C / 61°F
- Population
- 58k
- Elevation
- Sea level
When is the best time to visit Invercargill?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Invercargill is February, then January and March. The dullest month is July (6/100, 97 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Invercargill?
Invercargill gets a moderate 1,949 hours of sunshine a year. 48 Sunshine Score points separate February (54) from July (6), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #26 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 1,256 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52 | 17° / 63°F | 12° / 54°F | 116 mm | 8 | 16° / 61°F |
| February | 54 | 17° / 63°F | 12° / 54°F | 97 mm | 7 | 16° / 61°F |
| March | 48 | 16° / 61°F | 11° / 52°F | 102 mm | 5 | 14° / 57°F |
| April | 36 | 14° / 57°F | 10° / 50°F | 102 mm | 2 | 13° / 55°F |
| May | 23 | 12° / 54°F | 8° / 46°F | 116 mm | 1 | 11° / 52°F |
| June | 12 | 10° / 50°F | 7° / 45°F | 101 mm | 1 | 10° / 50°F |
| July | 6 | 9° / 48°F | 6° / 43°F | 97 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| August | 12 | 10° / 50°F | 6° / 43°F | 88 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| September | 24 | 12° / 54°F | 7° / 45°F | 103 mm | 2 | 10° / 50°F |
| October | 29 | 13° / 55°F | 8° / 46°F | 116 mm | 4 | 12° / 54°F |
| November | 35 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 113 mm | 6 | 13° / 55°F |
| December | 47 | 16° / 61°F | 11° / 52°F | 105 mm | 7 | 16° / 61°F |
Sea temperature in Invercargill by month
The sea off Invercargill is warmest in January at around 16°C / 61°F, and coolest in July at 9°C / 48°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Invercargill on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Dunedin New Zealand · 155 km · best in Feb · 2,093 h sun/yr
- Christchurch New Zealand · 465 km · best in Feb · 2,377 h sun/yr
- Blenheim New Zealand · 702 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
- Wellington New Zealand · 768 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 898 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 952 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Queenstown New Zealand · 159 km · 2,268 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Wanaka New Zealand · 202 km · 2,430 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Westport New Zealand · 582 km · 2,175 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Nelson New Zealand · 691 km · 2,486 h sun/yr · best in Feb
Head-to-head
How Invercargill compares month by month: Invercargill vs Christchurch · Invercargill vs Dunedin · Invercargill vs Blenheim · all comparisons
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