Climate averages 1991–2020
Dunedin weather
in March.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 3rd warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
March is a mild month in Dunedin: daytime highs average 16.1°C and nights cool to about 9.6°C. By daytime temperature it is the 3rd warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 59 mm of rain on roughly 10 days, which makes March a moderately wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 26 min on an average March day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Christchurch (310 km away). In March its highs average 19.3°C, 3.2°C warmer than Dunedin, with 45 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, Dunedin ranks 11th of 11 for the warmest March highs and joint 3rd of 11 for the driest March (rainfall, lowest first). The mean March high of those 11 cities is 19.6°C; Dunedin is 3.4°C cooler than that mean.
From March to April, average highs fall by 2.3°C to 13.9°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 59 mm to 54 mm.
The annual picture
March in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Dunedin climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17.4°C10.9°C | 10.9°C | 89 | 12.9 | 15.315 h |
| February | 17.4°C10.9°C | 10.9°C | 74 | 10.5 | 14.014 h |
| March, selected | 16.1°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 59 | 9.5 | 12.412 h |
| April | 13.9°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 54 | 9.3 | 10.811 h |
| May | 11.5°C5.5°C | 5.5°C | 50 | 9.7 | 9.49 h |
| June | 8.9°C3.2°C | 3.2°C | 46 | 9.2 | 8.79 h |
| July | 8.4°C2.3°C | 2.3°C | 39 | 8.0 | 9.09 h |
| August | 9.7°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 41 | 9.4 | 10.210 h |
| September | 11.6°C4.4°C | 4.4°C | 50 | 10.6 | 11.712 h |
| October | 13.1°C6.1°C | 6.1°C | 74 | 13.5 | 13.413 h |
| November | 14.3°C7.6°C | 7.6°C | 77 | 13.6 | 14.815 h |
| December | 16.0°C9.6°C | 9.6°C | 96 | 14.4 | 15.616 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
March in nearby cities
- Christchurch in MarchNew Zealand · 310 kmHigh 19.3°C · Low 10.7°C · 45 mm rain
- Wellington in MarchNew Zealand · 615 kmHigh 17.2°C · Low 14.0°C · 59 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in MarchNew Zealand · 628 kmHigh 18.5°C · Low 13.6°C · 59 mm rain
- Palmerston North in MarchNew Zealand · 740 kmHigh 19.6°C · Low 11.9°C · 62 mm rain
- Hamilton, New Zealand in MarchNew Zealand · 982 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 12.8°C · 72 mm rain
- Tauranga in MarchNew Zealand · 1024 kmHigh 20.7°C · Low 14.7°C · 96 mm rain
- Manukau City in MarchNew Zealand · 1052 kmHigh 21.2°C · Low 15.3°C · 67 mm rain
- Auckland in MarchNew Zealand · 1064 kmHigh 21.1°C · Low 15.8°C · 69 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Dunedin) is explained once on the Dunedin year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.