Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Invercargill New Zealand

In Invercargill, the summers are cool; the winters are short and very cold; and it is wet, windy, and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 65°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 73°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Invercargill for warm-weather activities is from mid January to late February.

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from December 7 to March 19, with an average daily high temperature above 62°F. The hottest month of the year in Invercargill is January, with an average high of 65°F and low of 51°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.7 months, from May 30 to August 19, with an average daily high temperature below 51°F. The coldest month of the year in Invercargill is July, with an average low of 38°F and high of 48°F.

In Invercargill, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Invercargill begins around August 11 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around April 8.

The clearest month of the year in Invercargill is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 50% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 8 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around August 11.

The cloudiest month of the year in Invercargill is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 61% of the time.

Invercargill does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 34% to 43%, with an average value of 39%.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Invercargill is May, with an average of 12.8 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 43% on May 20.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Invercargill experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Invercargill. The month with the most rain in Invercargill is January, with an average rainfall of 4.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Invercargill is August, with an average rainfall of 2.4 inches.

The length of the day in Invercargill varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2025, the shortest day is June 21, with 8 hours, 35 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 22, with 15 hours, 49 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:47 AM on December 11, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 44 minutes later at 8:31 AM on June 27. The earliest sunset is at 5:05 PM on June 14, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 37 minutes later at 9:41 PM on January 1.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Invercargill during 2025, starting in the spring on September 28 and ending in the fall on April 6.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2025. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Invercargill, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Invercargill experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from September 10 to December 6, with average wind speeds of more than 12.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Invercargill is October, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.0 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 9.1 months, from December 6 to September 10. The calmest month of the year in Invercargill is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Invercargill is from the west throughout the year.

Invercargill is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.0 months, from December 30 to March 30, with an average temperature above 57°F. The month of the year in Invercargill with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 58°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.7 months, from June 17 to October 7, with an average temperature below 52°F. The month of the year in Invercargill with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 50°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Invercargill throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Invercargill for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid January to late February, with a peak score in the first week of February.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Invercargill typically lasts for 10 months (309 days), from around August 10 to around June 15, rarely starting after October 15, or ending before April 6.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Invercargill should appear around October 18, only rarely appearing before October 4 or after November 4.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.3 months, from November 5 to February 14, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Invercargill is December, with an average of 6.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from April 24 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Invercargill is June, with an average of 1.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Invercargill are -46.400 deg latitude, 168.350 deg longitude, and 20 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Invercargill contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 98 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 23 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (604 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (4,541 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Invercargill is covered by grassland (61%), trees (24%), and cropland (11%), within 10 miles by cropland (59%) and water (18%), and within 50 miles by water (46%) and cropland (29%).