Hastings weather in March

In March, Hastings sees average daytime highs of 21°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 56 mm of rain across 8.1 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 10th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 21°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 hours at the start of March to 11 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Hastings's 7th-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Hastings's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 21°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 9th coldest
Rainfall: 56 mm; 8.1 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 7:13 AM – 7:32 PM
Cloud cover: 58%; 7th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 4.49 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.8; out of 10

Hastings is city in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Air quality: Good; PM10 15.3 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 3,614/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1873

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← February Hastings year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 22°C in the first days to 21°C by the end.

A typical March day in Hastings reaches about 21°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 17°C and 26°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 2°C cooler than February and about 3°C warmer than April.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20
Avg low (°C)	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	22	14
2	22	13
3	22	13
4	22	13
5	22	13
6	22	13
7	22	13
8	22	13
9	22	13
10	22	13
11	22	13
12	21	13
13	21	13
14	21	12
15	21	12
16	21	12
17	21	12
18	21	12
19	21	12
20	21	12
21	21	12
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	21	12
26	21	12
27	21	12
28	21	12
29	21	12
30	21	12
31	20	12

Hastings weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 4th-warmest and 10th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	24° / 14°	61	8.2	14.5	7.2
Feb	23° / 14°	55	7.6	13.6	7.1
Mar	21° / 12°	56	8.1	12.3	6.8
Apr	19° / 10°	69	8	11	6.2
May	16° / 8°	54	8.5	9.8	5.2
Jun	13° / 5°	71	9.2	9.3	3.9
Jul	13° / 5°	85	10.9	9.5	3.4
Aug	13° / 5°	65	10.8	10.4	3.8
Sep	15° / 6°	60	10.1	11.7	4.7
Oct	17° / 8°	65	10.3	13.1	5.6
Nov	19° / 10°	57	9.2	14.2	6.3
Dec	22° / 13°	63	10.1	14.8	6.5

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 31% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 51%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	47	47	46	45	45	45	44	44	44	45	46	47	47	48	48	50	51	51	52	53	54	54	54	54	54	54	53	53	52	51	51
Cloudier (%)	53	53	54	55	55	55	56	56	56	55	54	53	53	52	52	50	49	49	48	47	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	48	49	49

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	46	54
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	44	56
8	44	56
9	44	56
10	45	55
11	46	54
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	48	52
15	48	52
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	51	49
31	51	49

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Hastings gets around 56 mm of rain over 8.1 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 26% and peaks near 27% on the wettest days.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	26	26	25	25	25	25	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27

	Rain chance (%)
1	26
2	26
3	25
4	25
5	25
6	25
7	26
8	26
9	26
10	26
11	26
12	26
13	26
14	26
15	26
16	27
17	27
18	27
19	27
20	27
21	26
22	26
23	26
24	26
25	26
26	26
27	26
28	26
29	26
30	26
31	27

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 68% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	58	58	60	61	62	64	64	66	67	67	69	70	70	70	72	72	72	72	72	72	71	71	70	70	70	70	71	71	71	72	73
Comfortable (%)	31	31	30	30	29	28	28	27	26	26	25	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	22	21
Humid (%)	11	11	10	9	9	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	58	31	11
2	58	31	11
3	60	30	10
4	61	30	9
5	62	29	9
6	64	28	8
7	64	28	8
8	66	27	7
9	67	26	7
10	67	26	7
11	69	25	6
12	70	24	6
13	70	24	6
14	70	24	6
15	72	23	5
16	72	23	5
17	72	23	5
18	72	23	5
19	72	23	5
20	72	23	5
21	71	23	6
22	71	23	6
23	70	24	6
24	70	24	6
25	70	24	6
26	70	24	6
27	71	23	6
28	71	23	6
29	71	23	6
30	72	22	6
31	73	21	6

Wind in March

Winds average 11 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	12	calm
2	12	calm
3	12	calm
4	12	calm
5	12	calm
6	12	calm
7	12	calm
8	12	calm
9	12	calm
10	12	calm
11	12	calm
12	12	calm
13	12	calm
14	12	calm
15	12	calm
16	12	calm
17	11	calm
18	11	calm
19	11	calm
20	11	calm
21	11	calm
22	11	calm
23	11	calm
24	11	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm
29	11	calm
30	11	calm
31	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 hours at the start of March to 11 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 78 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 6:57 AM to 7:28 AM, and sunset from 7:55 PM to 7:07 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	13.0	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.7
Sunrise (AM)	6:57	6:58	6:59	7:00	7:01	7:02	7:03	7:04	7:05	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28
Sunset (PM)	7:55	7:54	7:52	7:51	7:49	7:48	7:46	7:45	7:43	7:42	7:40	7:38	7:37	7:35	7:34	7:32	7:30	7:29	7:27	7:25	7:24	7:22	7:20	7:19	7:17	7:16	7:14	7:12	7:11	7:09	7:07

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.0	6:57	7:55
2	12.9	6:58	7:54
3	12.9	6:59	7:52
4	12.8	7:00	7:51
5	12.8	7:01	7:49
6	12.8	7:02	7:48
7	12.7	7:03	7:46
8	12.7	7:04	7:45
9	12.6	7:05	7:43
10	12.6	7:06	7:42
11	12.5	7:07	7:40
12	12.5	7:08	7:38
13	12.5	7:09	7:37
14	12.4	7:10	7:35
15	12.4	7:12	7:34
16	12.3	7:13	7:32
17	12.3	7:14	7:30
18	12.2	7:15	7:29
19	12.2	7:16	7:27
20	12.1	7:17	7:25
21	12.1	7:18	7:24
22	12.1	7:19	7:22
23	12.0	7:20	7:20
24	12.0	7:21	7:19
25	11.9	7:22	7:17
26	11.9	7:23	7:16
27	11.8	7:24	7:14
28	11.8	7:25	7:12
29	11.7	7:26	7:11
30	11.7	7:27	7:09
31	11.7	7:28	7:07

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.49 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.81 kWh/m² to a high of 7.02 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 4.49 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.1	Bright
2	5.1	Bright
3	5.0	Bright
4	5.0	Bright
5	4.9	Bright
6	4.9	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.7	Bright
13	4.6	Bright
14	4.6	Bright
15	4.5	Bright
16	4.5	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.4	Bright
20	4.4	Bright
21	4.3	Bright
22	4.3	Bright
23	4.3	Bright
24	4.2	Bright
25	4.2	Bright
26	4.1	Bright
27	4.1	Bright
28	4.0	Bright
29	4.0	Moderate
30	3.9	Moderate
31	3.9	Moderate

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Hastings?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

6.8

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

4.4

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Hastings for sightseeing.

What to pack for Hastings in March

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

In March, Hastings sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: rain gear. About 8 days see rain.

rain gear

Sea temperature near Hastings in March

The nearest coast averages about 19°C in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 24 km away) is warmest in February at about 20°C and coldest in August near 13°C.

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	19	20	19	18	16	15	14	13	13	14	16	17
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	19	Cool
Feb	20	Cool
Mar	19	Cool
Apr	18	Cool
May	16	Cool
Jun	15	Bracing
Jul	14	Bracing
Aug	13	Bracing
Sep	13	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	16	Cool
Dec	17	Cool

UV index in Hastings in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks 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 Hastings peaks around January 13 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	5	2	2	2	3	4	7	11	12
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	High
Apr	5	Moderate
May	2	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	12	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Hastings?

Hastings sits at 39.6°S, 176.8°E, 19 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Napier, 17 km away.

Topography around Hastings

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Hastings has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 19 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 480 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,719 m.

The land around Hastings is covered by artificial surfaces (38%) and grassland (37%) within 3 km, grassland (59%) within 16 km, and grassland (40%), water (32%) and trees (26%) within 80 km.

3 km

19 m

artificial surfaces 38%

16 km

480 m

grassland 59%

80 km

1,719 m

grassland 40%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← February Hastings year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Napier 17 km · Taupo 125 km · Palmerston North 132 km · Gisborne 148 km · Whanganui 157 km · Levin 174 km · Rotorua 175 km · Masterton 178 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

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 Hastings (-39.6381°, 176.8492°, elevation 19 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. 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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	22	14
2	22	13
3	22	13
4	22	13
5	22	13
6	22	13
7	22	13
8	22	13
9	22	13
10	22	13
11	22	13
12	21	13
13	21	13
14	21	12
15	21	12
16	21	12
17	21	12
18	21	12
19	21	12
20	21	12
21	21	12
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	21	12
26	21	12
27	21	12
28	21	12
29	21	12
30	21	12
31	20	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	46	54
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	44	56
8	44	56
9	44	56
10	45	55
11	46	54
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	48	52
15	48	52
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	26
2	26
3	25
4	25
5	25
6	25
7	26
8	26
9	26
10	26
11	26
12	26
13	26
14	26
15	26
16	27
17	27
18	27
19	27
20	27
21	26
22	26
23	26
24	26
25	26
26	26
27	26
28	26
29	26
30	26
31	27

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	58	31	11
2	58	31	11
3	60	30	10
4	61	30	9
5	62	29	9
6	64	28	8
7	64	28	8
8	66	27	7
9	67	26	7
10	67	26	7
11	69	25	6
12	70	24	6
13	70	24	6
14	70	24	6
15	72	23	5
16	72	23	5
17	72	23	5
18	72	23	5
19	72	23	5
20	72	23	5
21	71	23	6
22	71	23	6
23	70	24	6
24	70	24	6
25	70	24	6
26	70	24	6
27	71	23	6
28	71	23	6
29	71	23	6
30	72	22	6
31	73	21	6

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	22	14
2	22	13
3	22	13
4	22	13
5	22	13
6	22	13
7	22	13
8	22	13
9	22	13
10	22	13
11	22	13
12	21	13
13	21	13
14	21	12
15	21	12
16	21	12
17	21	12
18	21	12
19	21	12
20	21	12
21	21	12
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	21	12
26	21	12
27	21	12
28	21	12
29	21	12
30	21	12
31	20	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	46	54
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	44	56
8	44	56
9	44	56
10	45	55
11	46	54
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	48	52
15	48	52
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	26
2	26
3	25
4	25
5	25
6	25
7	26
8	26
9	26
10	26
11	26
12	26
13	26
14	26
15	26
16	27
17	27
18	27
19	27
20	27
21	26
22	26
23	26
24	26
25	26
26	26
27	26
28	26
29	26
30	26
31	27

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	58	31	11
2	58	31	11
3	60	30	10
4	61	30	9
5	62	29	9
6	64	28	8
7	64	28	8
8	66	27	7
9	67	26	7
10	67	26	7
11	69	25	6
12	70	24	6
13	70	24	6
14	70	24	6
15	72	23	5
16	72	23	5
17	72	23	5
18	72	23	5
19	72	23	5
20	72	23	5
21	71	23	6
22	71	23	6
23	70	24	6
24	70	24	6
25	70	24	6
26	70	24	6
27	71	23	6
28	71	23	6
29	71	23	6
30	72	22	6
31	73	21	6

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	22	14
2	22	13
3	22	13
4	22	13
5	22	13
6	22	13
7	22	13
8	22	13
9	22	13
10	22	13
11	22	13
12	21	13
13	21	13
14	21	12
15	21	12
16	21	12
17	21	12
18	21	12
19	21	12
20	21	12
21	21	12
22	21	12
23	21	12
24	21	12
25	21	12
26	21	12
27	21	12
28	21	12
29	21	12
30	21	12
31	20	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	47	53
2	47	53
3	46	54
4	45	55
5	45	55
6	45	55
7	44	56
8	44	56
9	44	56
10	45	55
11	46	54
12	47	53
13	47	53
14	48	52
15	48	52
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	54	46
22	54	46
23	54	46
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	51	49
31	51	49

	Rain chance (%)
1	26
2	26
3	25
4	25
5	25
6	25
7	26
8	26
9	26
10	26
11	26
12	26
13	26
14	26
15	26
16	27
17	27
18	27
19	27
20	27
21	26
22	26
23	26
24	26
25	26
26	26
27	26
28	26
29	26
30	26
31	27

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	58	31	11
2	58	31	11
3	60	30	10
4	61	30	9
5	62	29	9
6	64	28	8
7	64	28	8
8	66	27	7
9	67	26	7
10	67	26	7
11	69	25	6
12	70	24	6
13	70	24	6
14	70	24	6
15	72	23	5
16	72	23	5
17	72	23	5
18	72	23	5
19	72	23	5
20	72	23	5
21	71	23	6
22	71	23	6
23	70	24	6
24	70	24	6
25	70	24	6
26	70	24	6
27	71	23	6
28	71	23	6
29	71	23	6
30	72	22	6
31	73	21	6