Nelson weather in October

In October, Nelson sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 131 mm of rain across 13 wet days and about 13.1 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 1st-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 14°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Nelson's 10th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nelson's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 7th warmest
Overnight low: 9°; 6th coldest
Rainfall: 131 mm; 13 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 06 min; 6:38 AM – 7:46 PM
Cloud cover: 57%; 10th clearest
Wind: 11 km/h; 2nd windiest
Solar energy: 5.14 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.9; out of 10

Nelson is city on the South Island, New Zealand.

Density: 122/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1841

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

← September Nelson year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

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

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 14°C through the month.

A typical October day in Nelson reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 12°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 2°C warmer than September and about 2°C cooler than November.

	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)	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Avg low (°C)	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10

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

Nelson weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 7th-warmest and 1st-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	19° / 14°	102	9.8	14.6	6.3
Feb	20° / 14°	80	8.1	13.7	6.5
Mar	18° / 13°	93	8.8	12.3	6.2
Apr	16° / 11°	108	10.5	10.9	4.9
May	13° / 9°	120	10.7	9.7	3.9
Jun	11° / 7°	127	10.6	9.1	2.8
Jul	10° / 6°	110	9.4	9.3	2.5
Aug	11° / 6°	114	11.8	10.3	2.6
Sep	12° / 7°	117	12.2	11.7	3.2
Oct	14° / 9°	131	13	13.1	3.9
Nov	16° / 10°	109	11.6	14.3	4.7
Dec	18° / 13°	125	12.8	14.9	5.4

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 46%.

	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 (%)	52	52	52	52	52	51	51	52	52	52	53	53	53	54	54	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	55	55	54	54	53	52	52
Cloudier (%)	48	48	48	48	48	49	49	48	48	48	47	47	47	46	46	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	45	45	46	46	47	48	48

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

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitation

Nelson gets around 131 mm of rain over 13 wet days in October, the wettest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 42% and peaks near 45% 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 (%)	44	44	45	45	45	45	45	45	44	44	44	44	43	43	42	41	41	40	40	39	39	39	39	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	45
9	44
10	44
11	44
12	44
13	43
14	43
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	40
19	40
20	39
21	39
22	39
23	39
24	40
25	40
26	40
27	40
28	40
29	40
30	40
31	40

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, October lands in the dry band about 99% 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 (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	97	97	97	96	96	95
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	5

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	97	3
29	96	4
30	96	4
31	95	5

Wind in October

Winds average 11 km/h in October.

Across October, 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)	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	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	11	calm
2	11	calm
3	11	calm
4	11	calm
5	11	calm
6	11	calm
7	11	calm
8	11	calm
9	11	calm
10	11	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 October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 7:03 AM to 6:17 AM, and sunset from 7:29 PM to 8:03 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)	12.4	12.5	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.9	12.9	13.0	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.8
Sunrise (AM)	7:03	7:01	6:59	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:53	6:51	6:49	6:48	6:46	6:44	6:43	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:35	6:34	6:32	6:31	6:29	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:24	6:22	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:17
Sunset (PM)	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:03

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.4	7:03	7:29
2	12.5	7:01	7:30
3	12.5	6:59	7:31
4	12.6	6:58	7:32
5	12.6	6:56	7:33
6	12.7	6:54	7:34
7	12.7	6:53	7:35
8	12.8	6:51	7:37
9	12.8	6:49	7:38
10	12.9	6:48	7:39
11	12.9	6:46	7:40
12	12.9	6:44	7:41
13	13.0	6:43	7:42
14	13.0	6:41	7:43
15	13.1	6:40	7:45
16	13.1	6:38	7:46
17	13.2	6:37	7:47
18	13.2	6:35	7:48
19	13.3	6:34	7:49
20	13.3	6:32	7:50
21	13.3	6:31	7:52
22	13.4	6:29	7:53
23	13.4	6:28	7:54
24	13.5	6:26	7:55
25	13.5	6:25	7:56
26	13.6	6:24	7:57
27	13.6	6:22	7:59
28	13.6	6:21	8:00
29	13.7	6:20	8:01
30	13.7	6:19	8:02
31	13.8	6:17	8:03

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 5.14 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 7.08 kWh/m² in January across the year — October's 5.14 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)	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.7
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	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.4	Bright
2	4.5	Bright
3	4.5	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.6	Bright
6	4.7	Bright
7	4.7	Bright
8	4.8	Bright
9	4.8	Bright
10	4.9	Bright
11	4.9	Bright
12	5.0	Bright
13	5.0	Bright
14	5.1	Bright
15	5.1	Bright
16	5.2	Bright
17	5.3	Bright
18	5.3	Bright
19	5.3	Bright
20	5.4	Bright
21	5.4	Bright
22	5.5	Bright
23	5.5	Bright
24	5.5	Bright
25	5.5	Bright
26	5.6	Bright
27	5.6	Bright
28	5.6	Bright
29	5.7	Bright
30	5.7	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Nelson?

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

3.9

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nelson.

What to pack for Nelson in October

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

In October, Nelson sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Nelson in October

The nearest coast averages about 14°C in October — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 18 km away) is warmest in February at about 20°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)	19	20	19	17	15	14	12	12	12	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	17	Cool
May	15	Cool
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	12	Bracing
Aug	12	Bracing
Sep	12	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	16	Cool
Dec	17	Cool

UV index in Nelson in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Nelson peaks around January 1 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 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 Nelson?

Nelson sits at 41.3°S, 173.3°E, 11 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Stoke, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Nelson

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Nelson has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 403 m around an average of 62 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,211 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,095 m.

The land around Nelson is covered by trees (42%) and water (32%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and water (38%) within 16 km, and trees (48%), water (28%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km

403 m

trees 42%

16 km

1,211 m

trees 46%

80 km

2,095 m

trees 48%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← September Nelson year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

October weather nearby: Stoke 7.0 km · Richmond 11 km · Picton 61 km · Blenheim 62 km · Karori 122 km · Wellington 125 km · Kaikoura 132 km · Porirua 132 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 Nelson (-41.2708°, 173.284°, elevation 11 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	13	8
2	13	8
3	13	8
4	13	8
5	14	8
6	14	8
7	14	8
8	14	8
9	14	8
10	14	9
11	14	9
12	14	9
13	14	9
14	14	9
15	14	9
16	14	9
17	14	9
18	14	9
19	14	9
20	14	9
21	14	9
22	15	9
23	15	9
24	15	9
25	15	9
26	15	9
27	15	9
28	15	10
29	15	10
30	15	10
31	15	10

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	45
9	44
10	44
11	44
12	44
13	43
14	43
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	40
19	40
20	39
21	39
22	39
23	39
24	40
25	40
26	40
27	40
28	40
29	40
30	40
31	40

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	97	3
29	96	4
30	96	4
31	95	5

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	45
9	44
10	44
11	44
12	44
13	43
14	43
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	40
19	40
20	39
21	39
22	39
23	39
24	40
25	40
26	40
27	40
28	40
29	40
30	40
31	40

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	97	3
29	96	4
30	96	4
31	95	5

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	44
2	44
3	45
4	45
5	45
6	45
7	45
8	45
9	44
10	44
11	44
12	44
13	43
14	43
15	42
16	41
17	41
18	40
19	40
20	39
21	39
22	39
23	39
24	40
25	40
26	40
27	40
28	40
29	40
30	40
31	40

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	98	2
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	97	3
29	96	4
30	96	4
31	95	5