Palmerston North weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · small town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Palmerston North is January — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 81/100), with February and March close behind. Palmerston North averages about 2,196 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 23°C / 73°F and roughly 58 mm of rain in January.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,196
- Sunniest month
- January
- Peak score
- 81/100
- Rain / year
- 948 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 9 (very high)
- Population
- 91k
- Elevation
- 41 m
When is the best time to visit Palmerston North?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Palmerston North is January, then February and March. The dullest month is July (25/100, 92 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Palmerston North?
Palmerston North gets a moderate 2,196 hours of sunshine a year. 56 Sunshine Score points separate January (81) from July (25), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #19 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 948 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 81 | 23° / 73°F | 13° / 55°F | 58 mm | 9 |
| February | 80 | 23° / 73°F | 13° / 55°F | 61 mm | 8 |
| March | 80 | 21° / 70°F | 12° / 54°F | 63 mm | 6 |
| April | 64 | 18° / 64°F | 10° / 50°F | 78 mm | 4 |
| May | 44 | 15° / 59°F | 8° / 46°F | 86 mm | 2 |
| June | 31 | 13° / 55°F | 7° / 45°F | 99 mm | 1 |
| July | 25 | 12° / 54°F | 6° / 43°F | 92 mm | 1 |
| August | 25 | 12° / 54°F | 6° / 43°F | 86 mm | 2 |
| September | 38 | 14° / 57°F | 7° / 45°F | 82 mm | 3 |
| October | 50 | 16° / 61°F | 8° / 46°F | 90 mm | 5 |
| November | 66 | 18° / 64°F | 10° / 50°F | 71 mm | 7 |
| December | 77 | 21° / 70°F | 12° / 54°F | 82 mm | 8 |
See Palmerston North on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Wellington New Zealand · 131 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
- Napier New Zealand · 143 km · best in Feb · 2,256 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 191 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
- Blenheim New Zealand · 198 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
- Tauranga New Zealand · 299 km · best in Jan · 2,513 h sun/yr
- Auckland New Zealand · 375 km · best in Jan · 2,479 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Wanganui New Zealand · 64 km · 2,180 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Taupo New Zealand · 180 km · 2,194 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Picton New Zealand · 180 km · 2,486 h sun/yr · best in Feb
Head-to-head
How Palmerston North compares month by month: Palmerston North vs Wellington · Palmerston North vs New Plymouth · Palmerston North vs Napier · Palmerston North vs Blenheim · all comparisons
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