Dunedin in Spring

In spring (September, October and November), Dunedin sees average daytime highs around 14°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 201 mm of rain over about 38 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 12°C in early September to 16°C by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

Spring is Dunedin's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Dunedin's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
14°C
3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
6°C
Rainfall
201 mm
38 wet days
Avg wind
14 km/h
Travel score
3.8
3rd-best season
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Dunedin in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 12°C in early September to 16°C by late November.

A typical spring day in Dunedin reaches about 14°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is November, the coolest September.

10°20°SepOctNov

How spring really feels in Dunedin

Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 5 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
5
wind chill below the day's low

The story in spring is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Dunedin weather by month

How the three spring months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan19° / 10°9113.115.15.4
Feb19° / 10°7310.3145.7
Mar17° / 599.712.45.5
Apr15° / 549.310.74.5
May12° / 509.99.33.3
Jun10° / 469.38.52.1
Jul / 398.18.82.1
Aug11° / 419.110.12.6
Sep13° / 5010.611.73.4
Oct14° / 7413.613.33.8
Nov16° / 7713.514.74.3
Dec17° / 9614.415.54.8

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Dunedin gets around 201 mm of rain over 38 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%SepOctNov

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of spring feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Wind in Spring

Winds average 14 km/h across spring.

05101520SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 54 min in early September to 15 h 12 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMSepOctNov

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.6 kWh/m².

0246SepOctNov
Planning a trip in spring

Is spring a good time to visit Dunedin?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

3.8
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
0.1
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

spring is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Dunedin.

What to pack for Dunedin in Spring

From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In spring, Dunedin sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 6°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer and sun protection. About 38 days see rain.

rain geara warm layersun protection

Sea temperature near Dunedin in Spring

The nearest coast averages about 11°C across spring — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in February at about 14°C and coldest in August near 10°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

8°10°12°14°16°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan14Bracing
Feb14Bracing
Mar14Bracing
Apr13Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul10Bracing
Aug10Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct11Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec13Bracing

UV index in Dunedin in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dunedin peaks around January 15 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 15UV 10Jun 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Extreme
Feb9Very high
Mar5High
Apr3Moderate
May1Low
Jun1Low
Jul1Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct5High
Nov8Very high
Dec9Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Dunedin?

Dunedin sits at 45.9°S, 170.5°E, 21 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Wanaka, 168 km away.

WanakaQueenstownTimaruInvercargillTekapoAshburtonFranz JosefRolleston

Topography around Dunedin

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dunedin has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 286 m around an average of 73 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 790 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,463 m.

The land around Dunedin is covered by artificial surfaces (42%) and trees (38%) within 3 km, water (39%), trees (35%) and grassland (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (48%) and water (39%) within 80 km.

3 km
286 m
16 km
790 m
80 km
1,463 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Spring weather nearby: Wanaka 168 km · Queenstown 172 km · Timaru 175 km · Invercargill 176 km · Tekapo 208 km · Ashburton 240 km · Franz Josef 277 km · Rolleston 295 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 86% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$49,591
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.5
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
9.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
no religion 49%Christian 37%objected to answering 7%Hindu 3%

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 Dunedin (-45.8742°, 170.5036°, elevation 21 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.