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.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- 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
- 114 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 #101 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 | 13° / 55°F | 44 mm | 10 | 22° / 72°F |
| February | 85 | 28° / 82°F | 13° / 55°F | 48 mm | 9 | 22° / 72°F |
| March | 86 | 25° / 77°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 | 4° / 39°F | 60 mm | 2 | 11° / 52°F |
| August | 34 | 13° / 55°F | 5° / 41°F | 64 mm | 2 | 12° / 54°F |
| September | 56 | 16° / 61°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
- Canberra Australia · 470 km · best in Apr · 2,862 h sun/yr
- Launceston (Western Junction) Australia · 476 km · best in Feb · 2,489 h sun/yr
- Hobart (Cambridge) Australia · 618 km · best in Feb · 2,388 h sun/yr
- Adelaide Australia · 641 km · best in Jan · 3,118 h sun/yr
- Sydney (Mascot) Australia · 706 km · best in Sep · 2,606 h sun/yr
- Newcastle Australia · 835 km · best in Sep · 2,691 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Melbourne Australia · 9 km · 2,583 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Mount Hotham Australia · 231 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 · 357 km · 2,625 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Narrandera Australia · 363 km · 3,284 h sun/yr · best in Apr
Head-to-head
How Melbourne compares month by month: Melbourne vs Adelaide · Melbourne vs Canberra · Melbourne vs Hobart (Cambridge) · Melbourne vs Launceston (Western Junction) · all comparisons
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