Rotorua climate — normals and trends
Rotorua (New Zealand) has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 11.9 °C and it receives 1,294 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 (16.9 °C on average) and the coldest is July (7.0 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Rotorua averages 8 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 142 rainy days per year.
Rotorua has warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.23 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 12 to 4 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 30.4 °C (on 8 February 1990) and the coldest -8.0 °C (on 2 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
RotoruaBay of Plenty
- coords
- -38.14°, 176.25°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
11.9°C
Average daily high
15.9°C
Average daily low
8.1°C
Annual rainfall
1,294mm
Sunshine / day
9.1h
Mean relative humidity
82%
Average peak wind
16.8km/h
Seasonal range
9.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
8 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
142 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.7 cm
Average feels-like high
14.4 °C
Average feels-like low
6.0 °C
Average peak gust
40.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
14.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.0 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.61 · 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
30.4 °C
8 February 1990
Coldest day
-8.0 °C
2 July 1951
Wettest day
127 mm
24 May 2010
Windiest day
50.0 km/h
15 March 1948
Strongest gust
118.8 km/h
15 March 1948
Hottest feels-like
33.4 °C
8 February 1990
Coldest feels-like
-12.3 °C
2 July 1951
Snowiest day
8.3 cm
27 June 1951
Sunniest day
14.6 h
30 December 2024
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
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Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21.8 °C | +0.3 °C | 78 mm | -12 mm |
| Feb | 23.3 °C | +1.8 °C | 52 mm | -37 mm |
| Mar | 21.7 °C | +2.1 °C | 27 mm | -64 mm |
| Apr | 18.3 °C | +1.7 °C | 185 mm | +85 mm |
| May | 15.3 °C | +1.8 °C | 138 mm | +32 mm |
| Jun | 12.8 °C | +1.6 °C | 151 mm | +37 mm |
| Jul | 12.0 °C | +1.5 °C | 265 mm | +145 mm |
| Aug | 11.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 79 mm | -41 mm |
| Sep | 14.0 °C | +0.9 °C | 115 mm | +2 mm |
| Oct | 16.6 °C | +1.4 °C | 142 mm | +21 mm |
| Nov | 20.6 °C | +3.1 °C | 159 mm | +53 mm |
| Dec | 21.3 °C | +1.7 °C | 119 mm | -4 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 Rotorua?
Rotorua has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 11.9 °C and it receives 1,294 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Rotorua?
The hottest day measured in Rotorua between 1940 and 2025 was 8 February 1990, reaching 30.4 °C.
What is the coldest day in Rotorua?
The coldest day measured in Rotorua between 1940 and 2025 was 2 July 1951, at -8.0 °C.
Does it snow in Rotorua?
Almost never: Rotorua sees virtually no snow, with about 8 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Rotorua warmed?
Yes: Rotorua warmed by +2.0 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Rotorua?
The wettest day measured in Rotorua between 1940 and 2025 was 24 May 2010, with 127 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Rotorua?
The windiest day measured in Rotorua between 1940 and 2025 was 15 March 1948, with winds reaching 50.0 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Rotorua?
The warmest month in Rotorua is February (16.9 °C on average); the coldest is July (7.0 °C).
How much does it rain in Rotorua?
Rotorua receives on average 1,294 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 142 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Rotorua?
Rotorua gets on average 9.1 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,322 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Rotorua?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Rotorua between 1940 and 2025 was 27 June 1951, with 8.3 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Rotorua?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Rotorua.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Rotorua?
In Rotorua, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 33.4 °C on 8 February 1990, and the lowest was -12.3 °C on 2 July 1951.
Compare Rotorua with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Rotorua