Masterton weather in December

In December, Masterton sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 84 mm of rain across 11.4 wet days and about 14.9 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 19°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 42 min at the start of December to 14 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Masterton's 12th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Masterton's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 18°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 84 mm; 11.4 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 54 min; 5:46 AM – 8:41 PM
Cloud cover: 66%; 12th clearest
Wind: 17 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 6.6 kWh/m²
Travel score: 5.6; out of 10

Masterton is town in Wellington Region, New Zealand.

Air quality: Moderate; PM2.5 11.7 µg/m³ · 2012
Founded: 1854

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

← November Masterton year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 17°C in the first days to 19°C by the end.

A typical December day in Masterton reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 14°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 2°C warmer than November and about 2°C cooler than January.

	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)	17	17	17	17	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

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

Masterton weather by month

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

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 12°	68	10.4	14.6	6.2
Feb	20° / 13°	67	8.5	13.6	6.4
Mar	19° / 11°	67	8.8	12.3	6.2
Apr	16° / 9°	75	9.9	10.9	5.0
May	14° / 7°	62	10.5	9.7	4.0
Jun	12° / 5°	83	12.2	9.1	2.8
Jul	11° / 5°	91	13.1	9.4	2.4
Aug	11° / 5°	81	13.4	10.4	2.7
Sep	13° / 6°	81	12.9	11.7	3.3
Oct	14° / 8°	95	12.8	13.1	4.0
Nov	16° / 9°	85	12.1	14.3	4.7
Dec	18° / 11°	84	11.4	14.9	5.6

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 21% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 60%.

	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 (%)	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	40	40	40	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	39	40	40	40	39	41	41	41	42	43	44	45	45
Cloudier (%)	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	61	60	60	60	61	61	61	61	61	62	62	61	60	60	60	61	59	59	59	58	57	56	55	55

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	39	61
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	39	61
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	39	61
16	39	61
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	39	61
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	43	57
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitation

Masterton gets around 84 mm of rain over 11.4 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 37% and peaks near 41% 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 (%)	41	40	40	39	39	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	37	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	35	35	35

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	37
11	37
12	37
13	37
14	37
15	37
16	37
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	36
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	35
31	35

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 74% 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 (%)	83	82	81	79	79	78	77	77	76	75	75	75	74	74	74	73	73	73	72	72	71	71	70	70	70	69	69	69	68	67	67
Comfortable (%)	16	17	18	19	19	20	21	21	21	22	22	22	23	23	23	24	24	24	25	25	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	29	29
Humid (%)	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	82	17	1
3	81	18	1
4	79	19	2
5	79	19	2
6	78	20	2
7	77	21	2
8	77	21	2
9	76	21	3
10	75	22	3
11	75	22	3
12	75	22	3
13	74	23	3
14	74	23	3
15	74	23	3
16	73	24	3
17	73	24	3
18	73	24	3
19	72	25	3
20	72	25	3
21	71	26	3
22	71	26	3
23	70	27	3
24	70	27	3
25	70	27	3
26	69	28	3
27	69	28	3
28	69	28	3
29	68	28	4
30	67	29	4
31	67	29	4

Wind in December

Winds average 17 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 17 km/h on the calmest days to 17 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)	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17	17
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	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

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

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 42 min at the start of December to 14 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 12 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 5:45 AM to 5:53 AM, and sunset from 8:29 PM to 8:48 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)	14.7	14.7	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9
Sunrise (AM)	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:45	5:46	5:46	5:46	5:47	5:47	5:47	5:48	5:48	5:49	5:49	5:50	5:51	5:51	5:52	5:53	5:53
Sunset (PM)	8:29	8:30	8:31	8:32	8:33	8:34	8:35	8:35	8:36	8:37	8:38	8:39	8:39	8:40	8:41	8:41	8:42	8:43	8:43	8:44	8:44	8:45	8:45	8:46	8:46	8:46	8:47	8:47	8:47	8:48	8:48

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.7	5:45	8:29
2	14.7	5:45	8:30
3	14.8	5:45	8:31
4	14.8	5:45	8:32
5	14.8	5:45	8:33
6	14.8	5:45	8:34
7	14.8	5:45	8:35
8	14.8	5:45	8:35
9	14.9	5:45	8:36
10	14.9	5:45	8:37
11	14.9	5:45	8:38
12	14.9	5:45	8:39
13	14.9	5:45	8:39
14	14.9	5:45	8:40
15	14.9	5:45	8:41
16	14.9	5:46	8:41
17	14.9	5:46	8:42
18	14.9	5:46	8:43
19	14.9	5:47	8:43
20	14.9	5:47	8:44
21	14.9	5:47	8:44
22	14.9	5:48	8:45
23	14.9	5:48	8:45
24	14.9	5:49	8:46
25	14.9	5:49	8:46
26	14.9	5:50	8:46
27	14.9	5:51	8:47
28	14.9	5:51	8:47
29	14.9	5:52	8:47
30	14.9	5:53	8:48
31	14.9	5:53	8:48

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 6.6 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.58 kWh/m² to a high of 6.99 kWh/m² in January across the year — December's 6.6 kWh/m² sits near the top of that range.

	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)	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.9	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.2	7.2	7.3	7.3	7.3
Level	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	6.5	Intense
2	6.5	Intense
3	6.5	Intense
4	6.5	Intense
5	6.5	Intense
6	6.5	Intense
7	6.5	Intense
8	6.5	Intense
9	6.5	Intense
10	6.5	Intense
11	6.6	Intense
12	6.6	Intense
13	6.6	Intense
14	6.6	Intense
15	6.6	Intense
16	6.7	Intense
17	6.7	Intense
18	6.7	Intense
19	6.7	Intense
20	6.8	Intense
21	6.8	Intense
22	6.9	Intense
23	6.9	Intense
24	7.0	Intense
25	7.0	Intense
26	7.1	Intense
27	7.2	Intense
28	7.2	Intense
29	7.3	Intense
30	7.3	Intense
31	7.3	Intense

Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Masterton?

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

5.6

Sightseeing

4th-best month of the year

1.9

Beach & pool

4th-best month of the year

December is a reasonable time to visit Masterton for sightseeing.

What to pack for Masterton in December

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

In December, Masterton sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 11°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

Sea temperature near Masterton in December

The nearest coast averages about 16°C in December — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 43 km away) is warmest in February at about 18°C and coldest in August near 12°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)	17	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	13	13	14	16
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	17	Cool
Feb	18	Cool
Mar	17	Cool
Apr	16	Cool
May	15	Bracing
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	13	Bracing
Aug	12	Bracing
Sep	13	Bracing
Oct	13	Bracing
Nov	14	Bracing
Dec	16	Cool

UV index in Masterton in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Masterton peaks around January 12 at about 11 (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 8 months of the year.

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

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

Location & terrain

Where is Masterton?

Masterton sits at 41.0°S, 175.7°E, 103 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Levin, 49 km away.

Topography around Masterton

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Masterton has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 70 m around an average of 108 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 673 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,511 m.

The land around Masterton is covered by grassland (51%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 3 km, grassland (78%) within 16 km, and grassland (38%), water (35%) and trees (26%) within 80 km.

3 km

70 m

grassland 51%

16 km

673 m

grassland 78%

80 km

1,511 m

grassland 38%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← November Masterton year-round climate January →Best places to visit in December

December weather nearby: Levin 49 km · Paraparaumu 54 km · Upper Hutt 55 km · Palmerston North 67 km · Lower Hutt 68 km · Wainuiomata 68 km · Porirua 70 km · Wellington 82 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 Masterton (-40.9597°, 175.6575°, elevation 103 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	17	10
2	17	10
3	17	10
4	17	10
5	17	11
6	18	11
7	18	11
8	18	11
9	18	11
10	18	11
11	18	11
12	18	11
13	18	11
14	18	11
15	18	11
16	18	11
17	18	11
18	18	11
19	18	11
20	18	11
21	18	11
22	18	11
23	18	11
24	19	12
25	19	12
26	19	12
27	19	12
28	19	12
29	19	12
30	19	12
31	19	12

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	39	61
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	39	61
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	39	61
16	39	61
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	39	61
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	43	57
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	37
11	37
12	37
13	37
14	37
15	37
16	37
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	36
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	35
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	82	17	1
3	81	18	1
4	79	19	2
5	79	19	2
6	78	20	2
7	77	21	2
8	77	21	2
9	76	21	3
10	75	22	3
11	75	22	3
12	75	22	3
13	74	23	3
14	74	23	3
15	74	23	3
16	73	24	3
17	73	24	3
18	73	24	3
19	72	25	3
20	72	25	3
21	71	26	3
22	71	26	3
23	70	27	3
24	70	27	3
25	70	27	3
26	69	28	3
27	69	28	3
28	69	28	3
29	68	28	4
30	67	29	4
31	67	29	4

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	39	61
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	39	61
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	39	61
16	39	61
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	39	61
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	43	57
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	37
11	37
12	37
13	37
14	37
15	37
16	37
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	36
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	35
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	82	17	1
3	81	18	1
4	79	19	2
5	79	19	2
6	78	20	2
7	77	21	2
8	77	21	2
9	76	21	3
10	75	22	3
11	75	22	3
12	75	22	3
13	74	23	3
14	74	23	3
15	74	23	3
16	73	24	3
17	73	24	3
18	73	24	3
19	72	25	3
20	72	25	3
21	71	26	3
22	71	26	3
23	70	27	3
24	70	27	3
25	70	27	3
26	69	28	3
27	69	28	3
28	69	28	3
29	68	28	4
30	67	29	4
31	67	29	4

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	39	61
8	39	61
9	40	60
10	40	60
11	40	60
12	39	61
13	39	61
14	39	61
15	39	61
16	39	61
17	38	62
18	38	62
19	39	61
20	40	60
21	40	60
22	40	60
23	39	61
24	41	59
25	41	59
26	41	59
27	42	58
28	43	57
29	44	56
30	45	55
31	45	55

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	40
3	40
4	39
5	39
6	38
7	38
8	37
9	37
10	37
11	37
12	37
13	37
14	37
15	37
16	37
17	36
18	36
19	36
20	36
21	36
22	36
23	36
24	36
25	36
26	36
27	35
28	35
29	35
30	35
31	35

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	83	16	1
2	82	17	1
3	81	18	1
4	79	19	2
5	79	19	2
6	78	20	2
7	77	21	2
8	77	21	2
9	76	21	3
10	75	22	3
11	75	22	3
12	75	22	3
13	74	23	3
14	74	23	3
15	74	23	3
16	73	24	3
17	73	24	3
18	73	24	3
19	72	25	3
20	72	25	3
21	71	26	3
22	71	26	3
23	70	27	3
24	70	27	3
25	70	27	3
26	69	28	3
27	69	28	3
28	69	28	3
29	68	28	4
30	67	29	4
31	67	29	4