Masterton weather in January

In January, Masterton sees average daytime highs of 20°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 68 mm of rain across 10.4 wet days and about 14.6 hours of daylight. It is the 2nd-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 20°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in January, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 54 min at the start of January to 14 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, January is Masterton's 3rd-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Masterton's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 20°; 2nd warmest
Overnight low: 12°; 11th coldest
Rainfall: 68 mm; 10.4 wet days
Daylight: 14 h 36 min; 6:08 AM – 8:46 PM
Cloud cover: 59%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 17 km/h; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 6.99 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.2; 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.

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

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

Temperature in January

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 20°C through the month.

A typical January day in Masterton reaches about 20°C in the afternoon and slips back to 12°C overnight — a 7°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, January runs about 2°C warmer than December and on par with February.

	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)	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Avg low (°C)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13

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

Masterton weather by month

How January compares with the rest of the year at a glance. January is the 2nd-warmest and 9th-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 January

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 29% of the time in January.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of January, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 55%.

	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 (%)	46	45	45	45	45	46	46	46	46	47	46	46	47	46	45	46	46	46	46	45	44	45	45	45	44	44	44	44	44	44	45
Cloudier (%)	54	55	55	55	55	54	54	54	54	53	54	54	53	54	55	54	54	54	54	55	56	55	55	55	56	56	56	56	56	56	55

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

Chance of precipitation in January

Any precipitation

Masterton gets around 68 mm of rain over 10.4 wet days in January. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 34% and peaks near 35% 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 (%)	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	35	34	34	34	34	34	34	33	33	33	33	33	33	32	32	31

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	35
4	35
5	35
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	32
30	32
31	31

Humidity in January

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, January lands in the dry band about 60% 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 (%)	67	66	65	65	65	64	64	64	64	62	62	62	62	61	61	60	59	59	58	58	58	57	57	55	55	54	54	54	54	54	54
Comfortable (%)	29	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	31	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	34	33	33	33
Humid (%)	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	11	11	12	12	12	13	13	13

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	67	29	4
2	66	30	4
3	65	30	5
4	65	30	5
5	65	30	5
6	64	30	6
7	64	30	6
8	64	30	6
9	64	30	6
10	62	31	7
11	62	31	7
12	62	31	7
13	62	31	7
14	61	32	7
15	61	32	7
16	60	32	8
17	59	33	8
18	59	33	8
19	58	33	9
20	58	33	9
21	58	33	9
22	57	33	10
23	57	33	10
24	55	34	11
25	55	34	11
26	54	34	12
27	54	34	12
28	54	34	12
29	54	33	13
30	54	33	13
31	54	33	13

Wind in January

Winds average 17 km/h in January.

Across January, daily wind ranges from about 16 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	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	16
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	16	light breeze
22	16	light breeze
23	16	light breeze
24	16	light breeze
25	16	light breeze
26	16	light breeze
27	16	light breeze
28	16	light breeze
29	16	light breeze
30	16	light breeze
31	16	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in January

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 54 min at the start of January to 14 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 42 minutes over January. Sunrise moves from 5:54 AM to 6:25 AM, and sunset from 8:47 PM to 8:37 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)	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.9	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.8	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.7	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.6	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.5	14.4	14.4	14.4	14.3	14.3	14.3	14.2	14.2
Sunrise (AM)	5:54	5:54	5:55	5:56	5:57	5:58	5:59	6:00	6:00	6:01	6:02	6:03	6:04	6:05	6:06	6:08	6:09	6:10	6:11	6:12	6:13	6:14	6:15	6:16	6:18	6:19	6:20	6:21	6:22	6:24	6:25
Sunset (PM)	8:47	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:48	8:47	8:47	8:47	8:47	8:46	8:46	8:46	8:45	8:45	8:45	8:44	8:44	8:43	8:42	8:42	8:41	8:40	8:40	8:39	8:38	8:37	8:37

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.9	5:54	8:47
2	14.9	5:54	8:48
3	14.9	5:55	8:48
4	14.9	5:56	8:48
5	14.8	5:57	8:48
6	14.8	5:58	8:48
7	14.8	5:59	8:48
8	14.8	6:00	8:48
9	14.8	6:00	8:48
10	14.8	6:01	8:47
11	14.7	6:02	8:47
12	14.7	6:03	8:47
13	14.7	6:04	8:47
14	14.7	6:05	8:46
15	14.7	6:06	8:46
16	14.6	6:08	8:46
17	14.6	6:09	8:45
18	14.6	6:10	8:45
19	14.6	6:11	8:45
20	14.5	6:12	8:44
21	14.5	6:13	8:44
22	14.5	6:14	8:43
23	14.5	6:15	8:42
24	14.4	6:16	8:42
25	14.4	6:18	8:41
26	14.4	6:19	8:40
27	14.3	6:20	8:40
28	14.3	6:21	8:39
29	14.3	6:22	8:38
30	14.2	6:24	8:37
31	14.2	6:25	8:37

Solar energy in January

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in January, about 6.99 kWh/m² — the sunniest month for solar.

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 — January's 6.99 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)	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.2	7.2	7.1	7.1	7.0	6.9	6.9	6.8	6.8	6.7	6.7	6.7	6.6	6.6	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.4	6.3	6.3
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	7.3	Intense
2	7.3	Intense
3	7.3	Intense
4	7.3	Intense
5	7.3	Intense
6	7.2	Intense
7	7.2	Intense
8	7.1	Intense
9	7.1	Intense
10	7.0	Intense
11	6.9	Intense
12	6.9	Intense
13	6.8	Intense
14	6.8	Intense
15	6.7	Intense
16	6.7	Intense
17	6.7	Intense
18	6.6	Intense
19	6.6	Intense
20	6.6	Intense
21	6.5	Intense
22	6.5	Intense
23	6.5	Intense
24	6.5	Intense
25	6.5	Intense
26	6.4	Intense
27	6.4	Intense
28	6.4	Intense
29	6.4	Intense
30	6.3	Intense
31	6.3	Intense

Planning a trip in January

Is January a good time to visit Masterton?

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

6.2

Sightseeing

2nd-best month of the year

3.1

Beach & pool

2nd-best month of the year

January is a reasonable time to visit Masterton for sightseeing.

What to pack for Masterton in January

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

In January, Masterton sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 12°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

sun protectionrain gear

Sea temperature near Masterton in January

The nearest coast averages about 17°C in January — 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 January

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in January 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

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

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	35
4	35
5	35
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	67	29	4
2	66	30	4
3	65	30	5
4	65	30	5
5	65	30	5
6	64	30	6
7	64	30	6
8	64	30	6
9	64	30	6
10	62	31	7
11	62	31	7
12	62	31	7
13	62	31	7
14	61	32	7
15	61	32	7
16	60	32	8
17	59	33	8
18	59	33	8
19	58	33	9
20	58	33	9
21	58	33	9
22	57	33	10
23	57	33	10
24	55	34	11
25	55	34	11
26	54	34	12
27	54	34	12
28	54	34	12
29	54	33	13
30	54	33	13
31	54	33	13

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	35
4	35
5	35
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	67	29	4
2	66	30	4
3	65	30	5
4	65	30	5
5	65	30	5
6	64	30	6
7	64	30	6
8	64	30	6
9	64	30	6
10	62	31	7
11	62	31	7
12	62	31	7
13	62	31	7
14	61	32	7
15	61	32	7
16	60	32	8
17	59	33	8
18	59	33	8
19	58	33	9
20	58	33	9
21	58	33	9
22	57	33	10
23	57	33	10
24	55	34	11
25	55	34	11
26	54	34	12
27	54	34	12
28	54	34	12
29	54	33	13
30	54	33	13
31	54	33	13

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	35
2	35
3	35
4	35
5	35
6	35
7	35
8	35
9	35
10	35
11	35
12	35
13	35
14	35
15	35
16	35
17	34
18	34
19	34
20	34
21	34
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	33
27	33
28	33
29	32
30	32
31	31

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	67	29	4
2	66	30	4
3	65	30	5
4	65	30	5
5	65	30	5
6	64	30	6
7	64	30	6
8	64	30	6
9	64	30	6
10	62	31	7
11	62	31	7
12	62	31	7
13	62	31	7
14	61	32	7
15	61	32	7
16	60	32	8
17	59	33	8
18	59	33	8
19	58	33	9
20	58	33	9
21	58	33	9
22	57	33	10
23	57	33	10
24	55	34	11
25	55	34	11
26	54	34	12
27	54	34	12
28	54	34	12
29	54	33	13
30	54	33	13
31	54	33	13