Newcastle climate — normals and trends
Newcastle (South Africa) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 16.6 °C and it receives 910 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 January (20.5 °C on average) and the coldest is June (10.6 °C). Rainfall peaks in December.
Newcastle averages 3 frost days, 41 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 127 rainy days per year.
Newcastle has warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.22 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 39.7 °C (on 6 January 2016) and the coldest -8.2 °C (on 12 June 1956).
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
NewcastleKwaZulu-Natal
- coords
- -27.76°, 29.93°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
16.6°C
Average daily high
24.1°C
Average daily low
10.9°C
Annual rainfall
910mm
Sunshine / day
9.8h
Mean relative humidity
64%
Average peak wind
15.0km/h
Seasonal range
9.9°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
3 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
41 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
127 d/yr
Annual snowfall
1.7 cm
Average feels-like high
23.3 °C
Average feels-like low
9.6 °C
Average peak gust
32.1 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
18.8 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.9 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.50 · 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
39.7 °C
6 January 2016
Coldest day
-8.2 °C
12 June 1956
Wettest day
92 mm
8 February 1985
Windiest day
45.8 km/h
23 September 1941
Strongest gust
90.7 km/h
30 August 2008
Hottest feels-like
41.7 °C
7 January 2016
Coldest feels-like
-12.4 °C
12 June 1956
Snowiest day
16.7 cm
7 July 1996
Sunniest day
13.8 h
26 December 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 | 27.8 °C | +1.0 °C | 152 mm | +1 mm |
| Feb | 26.3 °C | -0.1 °C | 194 mm | +75 mm |
| Mar | 25.6 °C | -0.1 °C | 172 mm | +79 mm |
| Apr | 22.2 °C | -1.4 °C | 196 mm | +143 mm |
| May | 22.4 °C | +0.7 °C | 4 mm | -13 mm |
| Jun | 20.2 °C | +1.0 °C | 2 mm | -9 mm |
| Jul | 19.8 °C | +0.3 °C | 20 mm | +10 mm |
| Aug | 23.9 °C | +1.9 °C | 18 mm | -7 mm |
| Sep | 25.3 °C | +0.2 °C | 110 mm | +65 mm |
| Oct | 25.8 °C | +0.1 °C | 46 mm | -53 mm |
| Nov | 24.3 °C | -1.8 °C | 185 mm | +55 mm |
| Dec | 26.2 °C | -0.6 °C | 219 mm | +63 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 Newcastle?
Newcastle has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 16.6 °C and it receives 910 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Newcastle?
The hottest day measured in Newcastle between 1940 and 2025 was 6 January 2016, reaching 39.7 °C.
What is the coldest day in Newcastle?
The coldest day measured in Newcastle between 1940 and 2025 was 12 June 1956, at -8.2 °C.
Does it snow in Newcastle?
Yes. Newcastle gets on average 1.7 cm of snow per year and has around 3 frost days.
Has the climate of Newcastle warmed?
Yes: Newcastle warmed by +1.9 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Newcastle?
The wettest day measured in Newcastle between 1940 and 2025 was 8 February 1985, with 92 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Newcastle?
The windiest day measured in Newcastle between 1940 and 2025 was 23 September 1941, with winds reaching 45.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Newcastle?
The warmest month in Newcastle is January (20.5 °C on average); the coldest is June (10.6 °C).
How much does it rain in Newcastle?
Newcastle receives on average 910 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 127 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Newcastle?
Newcastle gets on average 9.8 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,577 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Newcastle?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Newcastle between 1940 and 2025 was 7 July 1996, with 16.7 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Newcastle?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Newcastle.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Newcastle?
In Newcastle, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 41.7 °C on 7 January 2016, and the lowest was -12.4 °C on 12 June 1956.
Compare Newcastle with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Newcastle