Napier weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Napier is February — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 82/100), with November and January close behind. Napier averages about 2,256 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 24°C / 75°F and roughly 52 mm of rain in February.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,256
- Sunniest month
- February
- Peak score
- 82/100
- Rain / year
- 852 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 9 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 21°C / 70°F
- Population
- 66k
- Elevation
- Sea level
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When is the best time to visit Napier?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Napier is February, then November and January. The dullest month is July (31/100, 96 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Napier?
Napier gets a moderate 2,256 hours of sunshine a year. 51 Sunshine Score points separate February (82) from July (31), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #16 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 852 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 | 81 | 24° / 75°F | 15° / 59°F | 62 mm | 9 | 21° / 70°F |
| February | 82 | 24° / 75°F | 16° / 61°F | 52 mm | 8 | 21° / 70°F |
| March | 80 | 22° / 72°F | 14° / 57°F | 65 mm | 6 | 19° / 66°F |
| April | 71 | 19° / 66°F | 12° / 54°F | 78 mm | 4 | 18° / 64°F |
| May | 59 | 17° / 63°F | 10° / 50°F | 72 mm | 2 | 15° / 59°F |
| June | 38 | 14° / 57°F | 8° / 46°F | 87 mm | 1 | 14° / 57°F |
| July | 31 | 13° / 55°F | 7° / 45°F | 96 mm | 1 | 12° / 54°F |
| August | 39 | 14° / 57°F | 7° / 45°F | 73 mm | 2 | 12° / 54°F |
| September | 52 | 16° / 61°F | 8° / 46°F | 73 mm | 3 | 14° / 57°F |
| October | 66 | 18° / 64°F | 10° / 50°F | 73 mm | 5 | 15° / 59°F |
| November | 82 | 20° / 68°F | 12° / 54°F | 54 mm | 7 | 17° / 63°F |
| December | 80 | 23° / 73°F | 14° / 57°F | 67 mm | 8 | 20° / 68°F |
Sea temperature in Napier by month
The sea off Napier is warmest in January at around 21°C / 70°F, and coolest in July at 12°C / 54°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 2 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Napier on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 143 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- Tauranga New Zealand · 208 km · best in Jan · 2,513 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 237 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
- Wellington New Zealand · 271 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
- Auckland New Zealand · 328 km · best in Jan · 2,479 h sun/yr
- Blenheim New Zealand · 341 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Taupo New Zealand · 105 km · 2,194 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Gisborne New Zealand · 131 km · 2,202 h sun/yr · best in Nov
- Rotorua New Zealand · 158 km · 2,193 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Wanganui New Zealand · 167 km · 2,180 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Whakatāne New Zealand · 172 km · 2,513 h sun/yr · best in Nov
Head-to-head
How Napier compares month by month: Napier vs Auckland · Napier vs Tauranga · Napier vs Palmerston North · Napier vs New Plymouth · all comparisons
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