Melbourne weather by month & the best time to visit
🇦🇺 Australia · major coastal city · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Melbourne is January — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 86/100), with March and February close behind. Melbourne averages about 2,583 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 29°C / 84°F and roughly 44 mm of rain in January.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,583
- Sunniest month
- January
- Peak score
- 86/100
- Rain / year
- 664 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 22°C / 72°F
- Population
- 5.4M
- Elevation
- 79 m
When is the best time to visit Melbourne?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Melbourne is January, then March and February. The dullest month is July (28/100, 60 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Melbourne?
Melbourne gets a lot of sun: around 2,583 hours a year. 58 Sunshine Score points separate January (86) from July (28), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #102 of 118 destinations in Australia for annual sunshine, below the national median of 3,071 hours. The year's 664 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 | 86 | 29° / 84°F | 14° / 57°F | 44 mm | 10 | 22° / 72°F |
| February | 85 | 28° / 82°F | 14° / 57°F | 48 mm | 9 | 22° / 72°F |
| March | 86 | 26° / 79°F | 12° / 54°F | 45 mm | 7 | 21° / 70°F |
| April | 84 | 21° / 70°F | 9° / 48°F | 54 mm | 4 | 18° / 64°F |
| May | 57 | 16° / 61°F | 7° / 45°F | 51 mm | 2 | 15° / 59°F |
| June | 35 | 13° / 55°F | 5° / 41°F | 61 mm | 1 | 12° / 54°F |
| July | 28 | 12° / 54°F | 5° / 41°F | 60 mm | 2 | 11° / 52°F |
| August | 41 | 14° / 57°F | 5° / 41°F | 64 mm | 2 | 12° / 54°F |
| September | 63 | 17° / 63°F | 6° / 43°F | 56 mm | 4 | 13° / 55°F |
| October | 84 | 20° / 68°F | 8° / 46°F | 55 mm | 6 | 16° / 61°F |
| November | 82 | 24° / 75°F | 10° / 50°F | 68 mm | 8 | 20° / 68°F |
| December | 83 | 27° / 81°F | 12° / 54°F | 58 mm | 10 | 22° / 72°F |
Sea temperature in Melbourne by month
The sea off Melbourne is warmest in January at around 22°C / 72°F, and coolest in July at 11°C / 52°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 4 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Melbourne on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Melbourne Australia · 9 km · best in Jan · 2,583 h sun/yr
- Launceston (Western Junction) Australia · 468 km · best in Feb · 2,489 h sun/yr
- Canberra Australia · 469 km · best in Apr · 2,862 h sun/yr
- Hobart (Cambridge) Australia · 610 km · best in Feb · 2,388 h sun/yr
- Adelaide Australia · 649 km · best in Jan · 3,118 h sun/yr
- Sydney (Mascot) Australia · 705 km · best in Sep · 2,606 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Mount Hotham Australia · 228 km · 2,593 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- East Albury Australia · 260 km · 2,944 h sun/yr · best in Apr
- Mount Gambier Australia · 362 km · 2,625 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Forest Hill Australia · 366 km · 3,072 h sun/yr · best in Apr
- Narrandera Australia · 366 km · 3,284 h sun/yr · best in Apr
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