New Plymouth weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit New Plymouth is January — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 80/100), with February and March close behind. New Plymouth averages about 2,321 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 21°C / 70°F and roughly 69 mm of rain in January.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,321
- Sunniest month
- January
- Peak score
- 80/100
- Rain / year
- 1,230 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 11 (extreme)
- Sea at warmest
- 21°C / 70°F
- Population
- 90k
- Elevation
- 28 m
When is the best time to visit New Plymouth?
For sunshine, the best time to visit New Plymouth is January, then February and March. The dullest month is July (29/100, 121 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is New Plymouth?
New Plymouth gets a moderate 2,321 hours of sunshine a year. 51 Sunshine Score points separate January (80) from July (29), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #14 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 1,230 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 | 80 | 21° / 70°F | 15° / 59°F | 69 mm | 11 | 21° / 70°F |
| February | 78 | 22° / 72°F | 15° / 59°F | 80 mm | 9 | 20° / 68°F |
| March | 77 | 21° / 70°F | 14° / 57°F | 82 mm | 7 | 19° / 66°F |
| April | 61 | 18° / 64°F | 12° / 54°F | 103 mm | 4 | 18° / 64°F |
| May | 47 | 16° / 61°F | 11° / 52°F | 123 mm | 2 | 17° / 63°F |
| June | 34 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 128 mm | 1 | 15° / 59°F |
| July | 29 | 13° / 55°F | 8° / 46°F | 121 mm | 1 | 14° / 57°F |
| August | 29 | 13° / 55°F | 8° / 46°F | 118 mm | 2 | 13° / 55°F |
| September | 42 | 15° / 59°F | 9° / 48°F | 107 mm | 4 | 14° / 57°F |
| October | 49 | 16° / 61°F | 10° / 50°F | 105 mm | 6 | 15° / 59°F |
| November | 64 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 85 mm | 8 | 17° / 63°F |
| December | 72 | 20° / 68°F | 14° / 57°F | 109 mm | 10 | 18° / 64°F |
Sea temperature in New Plymouth by month
The sea off New Plymouth is warmest in January at around 21°C / 70°F, and coolest in August at 13°C / 55°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 1 month a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See New Plymouth on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 191 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- Auckland New Zealand · 228 km · best in Jan · 2,479 h sun/yr
- Tauranga New Zealand · 230 km · best in Jan · 2,513 h sun/yr
- Napier New Zealand · 237 km · best in Feb · 2,256 h sun/yr
- Wellington New Zealand · 263 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
- Blenheim New Zealand · 280 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Wanganui New Zealand · 129 km · 2,180 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Hamilton (New Zealand) New Zealand · 162 km · 2,216 h sun/yr · best in Nov
- Taupo New Zealand · 168 km · 2,194 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Rotorua New Zealand · 211 km · 2,193 h sun/yr · best in Jan
Head-to-head
How New Plymouth compares month by month: New Plymouth vs Auckland · New Plymouth vs Wellington · New Plymouth vs Tauranga · New Plymouth vs Palmerston North · all comparisons
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