Kaikoura weather in February

In February, Kaikoura sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 14°C, with 60 mm of rain across 8.6 wet days and about 13.7 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 18 min at the start of February to 13 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Kaikoura's 2nd-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kaikoura's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 18°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 14°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 60 mm; 8.6 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 42 min; 6:48 AM – 8:31 PM
Cloud cover: 53%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 5.88 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.1; out of 10

Kaikoura is town in New Zealand.

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

← January Kaikoura year-round climate March →Best places to visit in February

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

Temperature in February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month.

A typical February day in Kaikoura reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 14°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 15°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs on par with January and about 1°C warmer than March.

	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
Avg high (°C)	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

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

Kaikoura weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 1st-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	18° / 14°	69	10.1	0	14.7	5.9
Feb	18° / 14°	60	8.6	0	13.7	6.1
Mar	17° / 13°	70	9.2	0	12.4	5.6
Apr	15° / 11°	80	10.1	0	10.9	4.5
May	13° / 9°	69	10.2	0.2	9.6	3.7
Jun	11° / 7°	96	11.6	0.8	9	2.5
Jul	10° / 6°	93	11.8	1.1	9.2	2.1
Aug	10° / 7°	79	11.3	0.9	10.3	2.4
Sep	12° / 8°	65	9.8	0.5	11.7	3.1
Oct	13° / 9°	82	12.5	0.4	13.2	3.6
Nov	15° / 11°	71	10.8	0	14.4	4.4
Dec	17° / 13°	65	11.2	0	15	5.2

Cloud cover in February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 46%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	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
Clearer (%)	50	51	50	50	50	51	50	51	51	52	53	53	54	54	55	55	56	56	57	58	58	58	59	59	58	58	58	57
Cloudier (%)	50	49	50	50	50	49	50	49	49	48	47	47	46	46	45	45	44	44	43	42	42	42	41	41	42	42	42	43

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	51	49
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	58	42
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	57	43

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitation

Kaikoura gets around 60 mm of rain over 8.6 wet days in February, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 30% and peaks near 32% 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
Rain chance (%)	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	31	31	31	31	31	30	30	30	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	30
5	31
6	31
7	31
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	32
13	31
14	31
15	31
16	31
17	31
18	30
19	30
20	30
21	29
22	29
23	29
24	29
25	29
26	29
27	29
28	29

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, February lands in the dry band about 52% 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
Dry (%)	53	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	54	53	52	52	51	50	49	49	48	48	49	49	50	50	51	53	54	56	58	59
Comfortable (%)	35	35	35	35	36	36	37	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	45	46	46	46	45	45	44	43	42	41	39	38
Humid (%)	12	11	11	11	10	10	9	9	8	8	8	7	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	4	4	3	3	3

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	53	35	12
2	54	35	11
3	54	35	11
4	54	35	11
5	54	36	10
6	54	36	10
7	54	37	9
8	54	37	9
9	54	38	8
10	53	39	8
11	52	40	8
12	52	41	7
13	51	42	7
14	50	43	7
15	49	44	7
16	49	45	7
17	48	45	6
18	48	46	6
19	49	46	6
20	49	46	5
21	50	45	5
22	50	45	5
23	51	44	5
24	53	43	4
25	54	42	4
26	56	41	3
27	58	39	3
28	59	38	3

Wind in February

Winds average 14 km/h in February.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 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
Wind speed (km/h)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 18 min at the start of February to 13 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 72 minutes over February. Sunrise moves from 6:30 AM to 7:05 AM, and sunset from 8:47 PM to 8:12 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
Daylight (h)	14.3	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.1	14.1	14.0	14.0	14.0	13.9	13.9	13.8	13.8	13.8	13.7	13.7	13.6	13.6	13.5	13.5	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.3	13.3	13.2	13.2	13.1
Sunrise (AM)	6:30	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:35	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:41	6:42	6:43	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:50	6:51	6:52	6:54	6:55	6:56	6:57	6:59	7:00	7:01	7:02	7:04	7:05
Sunset (PM)	8:47	8:46	8:45	8:44	8:43	8:42	8:41	8:40	8:39	8:38	8:36	8:35	8:34	8:33	8:31	8:30	8:29	8:27	8:26	8:24	8:23	8:22	8:20	8:19	8:17	8:16	8:14	8:12

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.3	6:30	8:47
2	14.2	6:32	8:46
3	14.2	6:33	8:45
4	14.2	6:34	8:44
5	14.1	6:35	8:43
6	14.1	6:37	8:42
7	14.0	6:38	8:41
8	14.0	6:39	8:40
9	14.0	6:41	8:39
10	13.9	6:42	8:38
11	13.9	6:43	8:36
12	13.8	6:45	8:35
13	13.8	6:46	8:34
14	13.8	6:47	8:33
15	13.7	6:48	8:31
16	13.7	6:50	8:30
17	13.6	6:51	8:29
18	13.6	6:52	8:27
19	13.5	6:54	8:26
20	13.5	6:55	8:24
21	13.4	6:56	8:23
22	13.4	6:57	8:22
23	13.4	6:59	8:20
24	13.3	7:00	8:19
25	13.3	7:01	8:17
26	13.2	7:02	8:16
27	13.2	7:04	8:14
28	13.1	7:05	8:12

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 5.88 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.56 kWh/m² to a high of 7.08 kWh/m² in January across the year — February's 5.88 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
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	6.4	6.4	6.3	6.3	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.0	6.0	6.0	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.3
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.4	Intense
2	6.4	Intense
3	6.3	Intense
4	6.3	Intense
5	6.3	Intense
6	6.2	Intense
7	6.2	Intense
8	6.2	Intense
9	6.1	Intense
10	6.1	Intense
11	6.0	Intense
12	6.0	Bright
13	6.0	Bright
14	5.9	Bright
15	5.9	Bright
16	5.8	Bright
17	5.8	Bright
18	5.8	Bright
19	5.7	Bright
20	5.7	Bright
21	5.7	Bright
22	5.6	Bright
23	5.6	Bright
24	5.5	Bright
25	5.5	Bright
26	5.4	Bright
27	5.4	Bright
28	5.3	Bright

Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Kaikoura?

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

6.1

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

2.1

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

February is a reasonable time to visit Kaikoura for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kaikoura in February

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

In February, Kaikoura sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 14°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Kaikoura in February

The nearest coast averages about 17°C in February — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 10°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)	16	17	16	14	13	12	11	10	11	12	13	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	16	Cool
Feb	17	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	14	Bracing
May	13	Bracing
Jun	12	Bracing
Jul	11	Bracing
Aug	10	Bracing
Sep	11	Bracing
Oct	12	Bracing
Nov	13	Bracing
Dec	15	Bracing

UV index in Kaikoura in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kaikoura peaks around January 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	10	6	4	2	1	2	3	4	6	9	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	6	High
Apr	4	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Kaikoura?

Kaikoura sits at 42.4°S, 173.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Blenheim, 103 km away.

Topography around Kaikoura

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kaikoura has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 131 m around an average of 13 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,593 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,828 m.

The land around Kaikoura is covered by water (64%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, water (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (42%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km

131 m

water 64%

16 km

1,593 m

water 64%

80 km

2,828 m

grassland 42%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← January Kaikoura year-round climate March →Best places to visit in February

February weather nearby: Blenheim 103 km · Richmond 127 km · Stoke 128 km · Picton 128 km · Nelson 132 km · Rangiora 133 km · Christchurch 151 km · Karori 153 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 Kaikoura (-42.4167°, 173.6833°, elevation 0 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	18	14
2	18	14
3	18	14
4	18	14
5	18	14
6	18	14
7	18	14
8	18	14
9	18	14
10	18	14
11	18	14
12	18	14
13	18	14
14	18	14
15	18	14
16	18	14
17	18	14
18	18	14
19	18	14
20	18	14
21	18	14
22	18	14
23	18	14
24	18	14
25	18	14
26	18	14
27	18	14
28	18	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	51	49
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	58	42
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	30
5	31
6	31
7	31
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	32
13	31
14	31
15	31
16	31
17	31
18	30
19	30
20	30
21	29
22	29
23	29
24	29
25	29
26	29
27	29
28	29

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	53	35	12
2	54	35	11
3	54	35	11
4	54	35	11
5	54	36	10
6	54	36	10
7	54	37	9
8	54	37	9
9	54	38	8
10	53	39	8
11	52	40	8
12	52	41	7
13	51	42	7
14	50	43	7
15	49	44	7
16	49	45	7
17	48	45	6
18	48	46	6
19	49	46	6
20	49	46	5
21	50	45	5
22	50	45	5
23	51	44	5
24	53	43	4
25	54	42	4
26	56	41	3
27	58	39	3
28	59	38	3

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	51	49
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	58	42
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	30
5	31
6	31
7	31
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	32
13	31
14	31
15	31
16	31
17	31
18	30
19	30
20	30
21	29
22	29
23	29
24	29
25	29
26	29
27	29
28	29

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	53	35	12
2	54	35	11
3	54	35	11
4	54	35	11
5	54	36	10
6	54	36	10
7	54	37	9
8	54	37	9
9	54	38	8
10	53	39	8
11	52	40	8
12	52	41	7
13	51	42	7
14	50	43	7
15	49	44	7
16	49	45	7
17	48	45	6
18	48	46	6
19	49	46	6
20	49	46	5
21	50	45	5
22	50	45	5
23	51	44	5
24	53	43	4
25	54	42	4
26	56	41	3
27	58	39	3
28	59	38	3

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	51	49
7	50	50
8	51	49
9	51	49
10	52	48
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	58	42
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	59	41
24	59	41
25	58	42
26	58	42
27	58	42
28	57	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	30
5	31
6	31
7	31
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	32
13	31
14	31
15	31
16	31
17	31
18	30
19	30
20	30
21	29
22	29
23	29
24	29
25	29
26	29
27	29
28	29

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	53	35	12
2	54	35	11
3	54	35	11
4	54	35	11
5	54	36	10
6	54	36	10
7	54	37	9
8	54	37	9
9	54	38	8
10	53	39	8
11	52	40	8
12	52	41	7
13	51	42	7
14	50	43	7
15	49	44	7
16	49	45	7
17	48	45	6
18	48	46	6
19	49	46	6
20	49	46	5
21	50	45	5
22	50	45	5
23	51	44	5
24	53	43	4
25	54	42	4
26	56	41	3
27	58	39	3
28	59	38	3