Whakatāne weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Whakatāne is November — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 83/100), with January and February close behind. Whakatāne averages about 2,513 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 20°C / 68°F and roughly 58 mm of rain in November.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,513
- Sunniest month
- November
- Peak score
- 83/100
- Rain / year
- 1,082 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 22°C / 72°F
- Population
- 19k
- Elevation
- 6 m
When is the best time to visit Whakatāne?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Whakatāne is November, then January and February. The dullest month is July (30/100, 124 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Whakatāne?
Whakatāne gets a lot of sun: around 2,513 hours a year. 53 Sunshine Score points separate November (83) from July (30), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #2 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 1,082 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 | 16° / 61°F | 71 mm | 10 | 22° / 72°F |
| February | 81 | 25° / 77°F | 17° / 63°F | 70 mm | 9 | 22° / 72°F |
| March | 79 | 23° / 73°F | 15° / 59°F | 82 mm | 7 | 21° / 70°F |
| April | 75 | 20° / 68°F | 13° / 55°F | 100 mm | 4 | 19° / 66°F |
| May | 56 | 17° / 63°F | 11° / 52°F | 101 mm | 2 | 17° / 63°F |
| June | 36 | 14° / 57°F | 9° / 48°F | 117 mm | 1 | 15° / 59°F |
| July | 30 | 13° / 55°F | 8° / 46°F | 124 mm | 2 | 14° / 57°F |
| August | 37 | 14° / 57°F | 8° / 46°F | 104 mm | 2 | 14° / 57°F |
| September | 52 | 16° / 61°F | 9° / 48°F | 84 mm | 4 | 15° / 59°F |
| October | 65 | 18° / 64°F | 11° / 52°F | 83 mm | 6 | 16° / 61°F |
| November | 83 | 20° / 68°F | 12° / 54°F | 58 mm | 8 | 17° / 63°F |
| December | 78 | 22° / 72°F | 15° / 59°F | 88 mm | 9 | 19° / 66°F |
Sea temperature in Whakatāne by month
The sea off Whakatāne is warmest in January at around 22°C / 72°F, and coolest in July at 14°C / 57°F. The water sits at a comfortable 21°C or warmer roughly 3 months a year. Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Whakatāne on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Tauranga New Zealand · 69 km · best in Jan · 2,513 h sun/yr
- Napier New Zealand · 172 km · best in Feb · 2,256 h sun/yr
- Auckland New Zealand · 214 km · best in Jan · 2,479 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 267 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 289 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- Wellington New Zealand · 419 km · best in Feb · 2,510 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Rotorua New Zealand · 57 km · 2,193 h sun/yr · best in Jan
- Taupo New Zealand · 116 km · 2,194 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Gisborne New Zealand · 124 km · 2,202 h sun/yr · best in Nov
- Hamilton (New Zealand) New Zealand · 139 km · 2,216 h sun/yr · best in Nov
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