Climate averages 1991–2020
New Plymouth weather
in December.
A mild, wet month: the 4th warmest and the 6th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
December is a mild month in New Plymouth: daytime highs average 18.4°C and nights cool to about 12.9°C. By daytime temperature it is the 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 160 mm of rain on roughly 13 days, which makes December a wet month (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 14 h 51 min on an average December day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Hamilton, New Zealand (177 km away). In December its highs average 20.5°C, 2.1°C warmer than New Plymouth, with 99 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, New Plymouth ranks 8th of 11 for the warmest December highs and 11th of 11 for the driest December (rainfall, lowest first). The mean December high of those 11 cities is 19.1°C; New Plymouth is 0.7°C cooler than that mean.
From December to January, average highs rise by 1.6°C to 20.0°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 160 mm to 106 mm.
The annual picture
December 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
New Plymouth climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20.0°C14.2°C | 14.2°C | 106 | 10.3 | 14.615 h |
| February | 20.7°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 104 | 9.0 | 13.614 h |
| March | 19.2°C13.6°C | 13.6°C | 109 | 10.5 | 12.412 h |
| April | 16.9°C11.7°C | 11.7°C | 154 | 12.6 | 11.111 h |
| May | 14.7°C10.2°C | 10.2°C | 183 | 14.1 | 10.010 h |
| June | 12.7°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 185 | 14.7 | 9.59 h |
| July | 11.9°C7.2°C | 7.2°C | 189 | 16.2 | 9.710 h |
| August | 12.4°C7.3°C | 7.3°C | 177 | 16.0 | 10.611 h |
| September | 13.4°C8.3°C | 8.3°C | 173 | 15.6 | 11.812 h |
| October | 14.7°C9.5°C | 9.5°C | 171 | 14.9 | 13.113 h |
| November | 16.3°C10.7°C | 10.7°C | 134 | 12.4 | 14.214 h |
| December, selected | 18.4°C12.9°C | 12.9°C | 160 | 13.4 | 14.815 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
December in nearby cities
- Hamilton, New Zealand in DecemberNew Zealand · 177 kmHigh 20.5°C · Low 12.7°C · 99 mm rain
- Palmerston North in DecemberNew Zealand · 194 kmHigh 19.1°C · Low 11.8°C · 98 mm rain
- Tauranga in DecemberNew Zealand · 238 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 14.1°C · 112 mm rain
- Manukau City in DecemberNew Zealand · 241 kmHigh 20.3°C · Low 14.6°C · 87 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in DecemberNew Zealand · 246 kmHigh 21.4°C · Low 13.3°C · 63 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in DecemberNew Zealand · 249 kmHigh 17.9°C · Low 13.3°C · 68 mm rain
- Auckland in DecemberNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 20.2°C · Low 15.0°C · 92 mm rain
- Wellington in DecemberNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 16.5°C · Low 13.4°C · 65 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 New Plymouth) is explained once on the New Plymouth year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.