Palmerston North climate — normals and trends
Palmerston North (New Zealand) has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 12.9 °C and it receives 1,055 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is February (17.6 °C on average) and the coldest is July (8.4 °C). Rainfall peaks in October.
Palmerston North averages 5 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 157 rainy days per year.
Palmerston North has warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.24 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 9 to 1 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 30.1 °C (on 5 February 2005) and the coldest -4.4 °C (on 1 July 1951).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
Palmerston NorthManawatu-Wanganui
- coords
- -40.36°, 175.61°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
12.9°C
Average daily high
16.5°C
Average daily low
9.2°C
Annual rainfall
1,055mm
Sunshine / day
9.5h
Mean relative humidity
80%
Average peak wind
21.7km/h
Seasonal range
9.2°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
5 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
157 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.1 cm
Average feels-like high
14.8 °C
Average feels-like low
6.9 °C
Average peak gust
44.5 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.5 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.1 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.65 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
30.1 °C
5 February 2005
Coldest day
-4.4 °C
1 July 1951
Wettest day
90 mm
26 April 1966
Windiest day
55.3 km/h
2 January 2006
Strongest gust
116.3 km/h
8 November 1963
Hottest feels-like
34.5 °C
5 February 2005
Coldest feels-like
-8.8 °C
1 July 1951
Snowiest day
4.5 cm
26 May 1959
Sunniest day
14.8 h
3 January 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20.4 °C | -0.6 °C | 74 mm | -2 mm |
| Feb | 23.3 °C | +1.8 °C | 17 mm | -50 mm |
| Mar | 20.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 55 mm | -17 mm |
| Apr | 19.5 °C | +2.2 °C | 105 mm | +23 mm |
| May | 16.2 °C | +1.5 °C | 63 mm | -27 mm |
| Jun | 13.9 °C | +1.4 °C | 117 mm | +23 mm |
| Jul | 13.5 °C | +1.7 °C | 120 mm | +25 mm |
| Aug | 12.7 °C | +0.2 °C | 55 mm | -37 mm |
| Sep | 14.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 100 mm | +8 mm |
| Oct | 16.8 °C | +1.1 °C | 138 mm | +30 mm |
| Nov | 19.9 °C | +2.5 °C | 47 mm | -42 mm |
| Dec | 20.9 °C | +1.4 °C | 99 mm | -1 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Palmerston North?
Palmerston North has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 12.9 °C and it receives 1,055 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Palmerston North?
The hottest day measured in Palmerston North between 1940 and 2025 was 5 February 2005, reaching 30.1 °C.
What is the coldest day in Palmerston North?
The coldest day measured in Palmerston North between 1940 and 2025 was 1 July 1951, at -4.4 °C.
Does it snow in Palmerston North?
Almost never: Palmerston North sees virtually no snow, with about 5 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Palmerston North warmed?
Yes: Palmerston North warmed by +2.1 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Palmerston North?
The wettest day measured in Palmerston North between 1940 and 2025 was 26 April 1966, with 90 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Palmerston North?
The windiest day measured in Palmerston North between 1940 and 2025 was 2 January 2006, with winds reaching 55.3 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Palmerston North?
The warmest month in Palmerston North is February (17.6 °C on average); the coldest is July (8.4 °C).
How much does it rain in Palmerston North?
Palmerston North receives on average 1,055 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 157 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Palmerston North?
Palmerston North gets on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,468 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Palmerston North?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Palmerston North between 1940 and 2025 was 26 May 1959, with 4.5 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Palmerston North?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Palmerston North.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Palmerston North?
In Palmerston North, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 34.5 °C on 5 February 2005, and the lowest was -8.8 °C on 1 July 1951.
Compare Palmerston North with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Palmerston North