Gisborne in Spring

In spring (September, October and November), Gisborne sees average daytime highs around 17°C and overnight lows near 10°C, with 193 mm of rain over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 14°C in early September to 20°C by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
17°C
3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
10°C
Rainfall
193 mm
29 wet days
Avg wind
16 km/h
Travel score
5.5
3rd-best season
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Gisborne in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 14°C in early September to 20°C by late November.

A typical spring day in Gisborne reaches about 17°C and drops to 10°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is November, the coolest September.

10°15°20°25°SepOctNov

Gisborne 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
Jan22° / 16°637.514.47.1
Feb22° / 16°577.613.56.9
Mar21° / 14°728.412.36.7
Apr19° / 12°759.3116.1
May16° / 10°749.79.95.3
Jun14° / 8810.79.44.1
Jul13° / 9812.19.63.5
Aug14° / 8212.110.53.8
Sep15° / 7010.511.74.6
Oct17° / 10°669.7135.6
Nov19° / 12°579.114.16.2
Dec21° / 14°639.714.76.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time across spring.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Gisborne gets around 193 mm of rain over 29 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%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 16 km/h across spring.

05101520SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 06 min in early September to 14 h 30 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 5.3 kWh/m².

0246SepOctNov
Planning a trip in spring

Is spring a good time to visit Gisborne?

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.

5.5
Sightseeing
3rd-best month of the year
1.3
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Gisborne for sightseeing.

What to pack for Gisborne in Spring

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

In spring, Gisborne sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 10°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer and rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

sun protectiona warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Gisborne in Spring

The nearest coast averages about 15°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 20°C and coldest in August near 14°C.

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

15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan19Cool
Feb20Cool
Mar19Cool
Apr18Cool
May17Cool
Jun15Cool
Jul14Bracing
Aug14Bracing
Sep14Bracing
Oct15Bracing
Nov16Cool
Dec17Cool

UV index in Gisborne in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Gisborne peaks around December 23 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 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 highModerateModerateHighVery highExtremeDec 23UV 12Jun 17UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan12Extreme
Feb11Extreme
Mar7Very high
Apr5Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun2Low
Jul2Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct7High
Nov10Extreme
Dec12Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Gisborne?

Gisborne sits at 38.7°S, 178.0°E, 10 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Whakatane, 118 km away.

WhakataneNapierHastingsRotoruaTaupoTaurangaCambridgeHamilton East

Topography around Gisborne

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gisborne has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 m around an average of 17 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 474 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,632 m.

The land around Gisborne is covered by grassland (42%), artificial surfaces (22%) and trees (21%) within 3 km, grassland (37%), water (31%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and water (37%), trees (35%) and grassland (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
230 m
16 km
474 m
80 km
1,632 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Spring weather nearby: Whakatane 118 km · Napier 133 km · Hastings 148 km · Rotorua 164 km · Taupo 167 km · Tauranga 193 km · Cambridge 240 km · Hamilton East 256 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 Gisborne (-38.6533°, 178.0042°, elevation 10 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.