Climate averages 1991–2020
New Plymouth weather
in May.
A cool, very wet month: the joint 7th warmest and the 10th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a cool month in New Plymouth: daytime highs average 14.7°C and nights cool to about 10.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 7th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 183 mm of rain on roughly 14 days, which makes May a very wet month (the 10th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 02 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Hamilton, New Zealand (177 km away). In May its highs average 15.8°C, 1.1°C warmer than New Plymouth, with 107 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, New Plymouth ranks 6th of 11 for the warmest May highs and 11th of 11 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 11 cities is 14.8°C; New Plymouth is level with that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 2.0°C to 12.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 183 mm to 185 mm.
The annual picture
May 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, selected | 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 | 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
May in nearby cities
- Hamilton, New Zealand in MayNew Zealand · 177 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 8.2°C · 107 mm rain
- Palmerston North in MayNew Zealand · 194 kmHigh 14.4°C · Low 7.9°C · 79 mm rain
- Tauranga in MayNew Zealand · 238 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 10.6°C · 113 mm rain
- Manukau City in MayNew Zealand · 241 kmHigh 16.4°C · Low 11.5°C · 92 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in MayNew Zealand · 246 kmHigh 15.5°C · Low 8.3°C · 54 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in MayNew Zealand · 249 kmHigh 14.3°C · Low 10.4°C · 70 mm rain
- Auckland in MayNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 16.5°C · Low 12.1°C · 96 mm rain
- Wellington in MayNew Zealand · 254 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 11.1°C · 76 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.