Climate and average weather in Clayton

In Clayton, the summers are warm, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cool, breezy, and partly cloudy.

Best: early January to mid April

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Clayton typically varies from 9°C to 23°C, and is rarely below 6°C or above 29°C. February is the hottest month of the year, while July is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Clayton for warm-weather activities are from early January to mid April and mid November to late December.

Hottest
Feb
23°
Coldest
Jul
Wettest
Sep
69 mm
Driest
Mar
45 mm
Rain / yr
729 mm
118 wet days
Daylight
9.4–14.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
70 m
37.9°S
Clearest
Feb
49% cloud

Clayton weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to mid April.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Clayton, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from December 8 to March 26, with daily high temperatures above 20°C. The hottest month of the year in Clayton is February, with an average high of 23°C and low of 17°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from May 30 to September 12, with daily high temperatures below 14°C. The coldest month of the year in Clayton is July, with an average low of 9°C and high of 13°C.

Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2216
Feb2317
Mar2115
Apr1813
May1611
Jun1310
Jul139
Aug139
Sep1510
Oct1711
Nov1913
Dec2115

Average hourly temperature in Clayton

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on February afternoons, near 23°C, and coldest before dawn in July, near C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Clayton weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan22° / 16°516.414.37.4
Feb23° / 17°496.413.57.4
Mar21° / 15°457.812.37.0
Apr18° / 13°629116.0
May16° / 11°6410.8104.7
Jun13° / 10°6711.59.43.6
Jul13° / 57129.63.3
Aug13° / 6712.110.53.5
Sep15° / 10°6912.411.74.2
Oct17° / 11°6811135.2
Nov19° / 13°669.5146.1
Dec21° / 15°659.114.66.6

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Clayton gets about 729 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.5 months, from around Apr 27 to Nov 11, peaking in August at about 42% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 17.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 69 mm over about 12 wet days; March is the driest, with 45 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 7 · 42%Jan 17 · 19%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan216
Feb236
Mar258
Apr319
May3411
Jun3912
Jul3912
Aug3912
Sep4012
Oct3711
Nov3210
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Clayton collects about 729 mm of rain across 118 wet days — roughly 61 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 69 mm, while March is the driest at just 45 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 28% of the year’s total.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec514945626467576769686665
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan516
Feb496
Mar458
Apr629
May6411
Jun6712
Jul5712
Aug6712
Sep6912
Oct6811
Nov6610
Dec659

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Clayton, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around December 15 and lasts for 3.5 months, ending around March 30. The clearest month is January, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 31 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around August 17. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 23 · 62%May 5 · 38%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6040
Feb6040
Mar5347
Apr4555
May4060
Jun4456
Jul4753
Aug4852
Sep4555
Oct4654
Nov4456
Dec4951

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around January 1, brings about 14 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around June 10, only 9 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan14.36:188:40
Feb13.56:508:18
Mar12.37:207:38
Apr11.07:496:50
May10.08:176:15
Jun9.48:386:01
Jul9.68:376:13
Aug10.58:086:39
Sep11.77:217:07
Oct13.06:357:35
Nov14.06:028:07
Dec14.65:578:34

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Clayton averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.8 months, from around Nov 16 to Apr 11. The sunniest month is January, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is May, down near 5 sunny days — about 59% fewer than the January peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightJan 2513 daysMay 165 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan13Mixed
Feb12Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr8Gloomy
May5Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug6Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct8Gloomy
Nov8Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Clayton, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.0 months, from around November 27 to March 27. The muggiest month is February, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 26% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around March 28 to November 26, and May is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 5 · 100%Feb 3 · 70%humidcomfortabledryhumidcomfortablehumid
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan4633173
Feb3836214
Mar5632111
Apr821710
May97300
Jun100000
Jul100000
Aug100000
Sep100000
Oct95400
Nov821540
Dec662680

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Clayton is typically light breeze, near 18 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.0 months, from around Jun 9 to Nov 6. The windiest month is August, averaging about 20 km/h (breezy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jan 10 to Jun 8, with April the calmest month at about 17 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezebreezyAug 10 · 21 km/hApr 16 · 17 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan18light breeze
Feb17light breeze
Mar17light breeze
Apr17light breeze
May17light breeze
Jun19light breeze
Jul20light breeze
Aug20breezy
Sep19light breeze
Oct19light breeze
Nov18light breeze
Dec18light breeze

Hazard calendar for Clayton

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Clayton sits in the South Indian Ocean cyclone belt; the season peaks January–March.

Cyclone
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Clayton

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Clayton throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early April, Clayton is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Clayton for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid November to mid April, with a peak score in the third week of January.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 19 · 7.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan7.4good
Feb7.4good
Mar6.9good
Apr6.0good
May4.7fair
Jun3.6fair
Jul3.2poor
Aug3.5poor
Sep4.2fair
Oct5.2fair
Nov6.1good
Dec6.6good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Clayton for hot-weather activities is from late December to mid March, with a peak score in the last week of January.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJan 26 · 5.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Clayton, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around February (highs near 23°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around July (highs near 13°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In February, Clayton sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 17°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 6 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Clayton

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 22 km away) is warmest in February at about 21°C and coldest in August near 11°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jan 15 to Mar 11 — about 1.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.

10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan20Refreshing
Feb21Refreshing
Mar20Cool
Apr18Cool
May15Cool
Jun13Bracing
Jul12Bracing
Aug11Bracing
Sep12Bracing
Oct14Bracing
Nov17Cool
Dec19Cool

UV index (midday) in Clayton by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Clayton peaks around December 19 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateLowModerateVery highExtremeDec 19UV 12Jun 18UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb10Extreme
Mar8Very high
Apr5Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun2Low
Jul2Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep4Moderate
Oct7Very high
Nov10Very high
Dec12Extreme

Average hourly UV index in Clayton

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in December the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 7 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan96.5
Feb85.5
Mar74
Apr4.50
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug1.50
Sep4.50
Oct73.5
Nov8.55.5
Dec97
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Clayton is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Clayton banks about 1,777 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around February.

05001,0001,5002,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan286
Feb265
Mar256
Apr176
May108
Jun44
Jul18
Aug28
Sep67
Oct121
Nov174
Dec234

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Clayton receives about 4.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.8 and 7.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Sep 26 to Mar 23. The brightest month is January, averaging about 7.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is June, down near 1.8 kWh/m² — roughly 74% less than the January peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbrighterdimmerbrighterdimmoderatebrightintenseJan 17.4 kWhJun 181.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan7.2Intense
Feb6.3Intense
Mar4.8Bright
Apr3.4Moderate
May2.3Moderate
Jun1.8Dim
Jul2.0Moderate
Aug2.8Moderate
Sep4.0Bright
Oct5.3Bright
Nov6.4Intense
Dec7.0Intense

Where is Clayton?

Clayton sits at 37.9°S, 145.1°E, 70 m above sea level, in Australia. The nearest listed city is Mount Waverley, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Clayton

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Clayton.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Clayton has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 87 m around an average of 68 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 243 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,419 m.

The land around Clayton is covered by artificial surfaces (70%) and trees (20%) within 3 km, artificial surfaces (44%) and trees (28%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%), trees (32%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
87 m
16 km
243 m
80 km
1,419 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Mount Waverley 5.0 km · Springvale 5.0 km · Mulgrave 5.0 km · Bentleigh East 6.0 km · Carnegie 6.0 km · Glen Waverley 6.0 km · Wheelers Hill 6.0 km · Noble Park 7.0 km

Australia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 90% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$65,130
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
none 38%Roman Catholic 20%Protestant 18%other Christian 4%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Clayton (-37.9167°, 145.1167°, elevation 70 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).