Nelson weather in September

In September, Nelson sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 117 mm of rain across 12.2 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 12°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in September, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 hours at the start of September to 12 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, September is Nelson's 9th-clearest and 5th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Nelson's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 12°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 4th coldest
Rainfall: 117 mm; 12.2 wet days
Daylight: 11 h 42 min; 7:29 AM – 7:13 PM
Cloud cover: 56%; 9th clearest
Wind: 10 km/h; 5th windiest
Solar energy: 3.8 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.2; 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.

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

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

Temperature in September

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 12°C through the month.

A typical September day in Nelson reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 14°C. Set against its neighbours, September runs about 2°C warmer than August and about 2°C cooler than October.

	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
Avg high (°C)	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	13	13
Avg low (°C)	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8

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

Nelson weather by month

How September compares with the rest of the year at a glance. September is the 9th-warmest and 5th-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 September

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in September.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of September, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 47%.

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

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

Chance of precipitation in September

Any precipitation

Nelson gets around 117 mm of rain over 12.2 wet days in September. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 40% and peaks near 43% 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
Rain chance (%)	36	36	36	37	37	38	38	39	39	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	43

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	38
7	38
8	39
9	39
10	40
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	40
16	40
17	40
18	40
19	40
20	40
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	42
29	42
30	43

Humidity in September

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, September lands in the dry band about 100% 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
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

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

Wind in September

Winds average 10 km/h in September.

Across September, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 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
Wind speed (km/h)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	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

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	10	calm
2	10	calm
3	10	calm
4	10	calm
5	10	calm
6	10	calm
7	10	calm
8	10	calm
9	10	calm
10	10	calm
11	10	calm
12	10	calm
13	10	calm
14	10	calm
15	10	calm
16	10	calm
17	10	calm
18	10	calm
19	10	calm
20	10	calm
21	10	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

Sunrise & sunset in September

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 hours at the start of September to 12 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over September. Sunrise moves from 7:56 AM to 7:05 AM, and sunset from 6:58 PM to 7:28 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
Daylight (h)	11.0	11.1	11.1	11.2	11.2	11.3	11.3	11.4	11.4	11.4	11.5	11.5	11.6	11.6	11.7	11.7	11.8	11.8	11.9	11.9	12.0	12.0	12.1	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.4
Sunrise (AM)	7:56	7:54	7:52	7:50	7:49	7:47	7:45	7:44	7:42	7:40	7:38	7:36	7:35	7:33	7:31	7:29	7:28	7:26	7:24	7:22	7:20	7:19	7:17	7:15	7:13	7:12	7:10	7:08	7:06	7:05
Sunset (PM)	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	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.0	7:56	6:58
2	11.1	7:54	6:59
3	11.1	7:52	7:00
4	11.2	7:50	7:01
5	11.2	7:49	7:02
6	11.3	7:47	7:03
7	11.3	7:45	7:04
8	11.4	7:44	7:05
9	11.4	7:42	7:06
10	11.4	7:40	7:07
11	11.5	7:38	7:08
12	11.5	7:36	7:09
13	11.6	7:35	7:10
14	11.6	7:33	7:11
15	11.7	7:31	7:12
16	11.7	7:29	7:13
17	11.8	7:28	7:14
18	11.8	7:26	7:15
19	11.9	7:24	7:16
20	11.9	7:22	7:17
21	12.0	7:20	7:18
22	12.0	7:19	7:19
23	12.1	7:17	7:20
24	12.1	7:15	7:21
25	12.2	7:13	7:22
26	12.2	7:12	7:24
27	12.2	7:10	7:25
28	12.3	7:08	7:26
29	12.3	7:06	7:27
30	12.4	7:05	7:28

Solar energy in September

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in September, about 3.8 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 — September's 3.8 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
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.2	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.5	3.5	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.4
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.2	Moderate
2	3.3	Moderate
3	3.3	Moderate
4	3.4	Moderate
5	3.4	Moderate
6	3.4	Moderate
7	3.5	Moderate
8	3.5	Moderate
9	3.6	Moderate
10	3.6	Moderate
11	3.6	Moderate
12	3.7	Moderate
13	3.7	Moderate
14	3.8	Moderate
15	3.8	Moderate
16	3.9	Moderate
17	3.9	Moderate
18	3.9	Moderate
19	4.0	Moderate
20	4.0	Bright
21	4.1	Bright
22	4.1	Bright
23	4.1	Bright
24	4.2	Bright
25	4.2	Bright
26	4.2	Bright
27	4.3	Bright
28	4.3	Bright
29	4.3	Bright
30	4.4	Bright

Planning a trip in September

Is September a good time to visit Nelson?

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

3.2

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

9th-best month of the year

September is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Nelson.

What to pack for Nelson in September

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

In September, Nelson sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Nelson in September

The nearest coast averages about 12°C in September — 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 September

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in September peaks around 4 — 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

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

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	38
7	38
8	39
9	39
10	40
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	40
16	40
17	40
18	40
19	40
20	40
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	42
29	42
30	43

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

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	38
7	38
8	39
9	39
10	40
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	40
16	40
17	40
18	40
19	40
20	40
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	42
29	42
30	43

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

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

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

	Rain chance (%)
1	36
2	36
3	36
4	37
5	37
6	38
7	38
8	39
9	39
10	40
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	40
16	40
17	40
18	40
19	40
20	40
21	41
22	41
23	41
24	41
25	41
26	41
27	41
28	42
29	42
30	43

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