Picton weather in March

In March, Picton sees average daytime highs of 19°C and overnight lows near 13°C, with 58 mm of rain across 7.1 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 11th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 20°C in the first days to 18°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 hours at the start of March to 11 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Picton's 2nd-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Picton's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 19°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 13°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 58 mm; 7.1 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 7:23 AM – 7:44 PM
Cloud cover: 51%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 17 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 4.92 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.7; out of 10

Picton is town in New Zealand.

Density: 144/km²; people per km²

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

← February Picton year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 20°C in the first days to 18°C by the end.

A typical March day in Picton reaches about 19°C in the afternoon and slips back to 13°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 16°C and 21°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 2°C cooler than February and about 2°C warmer than April.

	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)	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

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

Picton weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 3rd-warmest and 11th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	20° / 14°	60	7.4	14.6	6.8
Feb	20° / 14°	52	5.7	13.7	7.1
Mar	19° / 13°	58	7.1	12.3	6.7
Apr	17° / 11°	78	8.2	10.9	5.6
May	14° / 9°	75	8.5	9.7	4.5
Jun	12° / 7°	91	9.7	9.1	3.3
Jul	11° / 6°	83	10.1	9.3	2.9
Aug	12° / 6°	79	10.8	10.3	3.2
Sep	14° / 8°	77	10.1	11.7	3.9
Oct	15° / 9°	89	11.3	13.1	4.5
Nov	17° / 11°	73	9.5	14.3	5.5
Dec	19° / 13°	75	10.4	14.9	6.0

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 39% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 41%.

	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 (%)	61	61	60	60	59	59	58	59	58	58	59	58	58	58	58	58	58	59	59	59	60	60	60	60	60	60	59	59	59	59	58
Cloudier (%)	39	39	40	40	41	41	42	41	42	42	41	42	42	42	42	42	42	41	41	41	40	40	40	40	40	40	41	41	41	41	42

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

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Picton gets around 58 mm of rain over 7.1 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 23% and peaks near 25% 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 (%)	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	22	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	23	24	24	24	24	25

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

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 67% 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 (%)	60	62	63	64	66	66	67	68	68	69	69	69	69	69	69	69	68	68	68	67	67	67	66	66	67	67	68	68	70	71	72
Comfortable (%)	32	31	30	29	28	28	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	26	27	27	27	28	28	28	29	29	28	28	27	27	26	25	24
Humid (%)	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	60	32	8
2	62	31	7
3	63	30	7
4	64	29	7
5	66	28	6
6	66	28	6
7	67	27	6
8	68	26	6
9	68	26	6
10	69	26	5
11	69	26	5
12	69	26	5
13	69	26	5
14	69	26	5
15	69	26	5
16	69	26	5
17	68	27	5
18	68	27	5
19	68	27	5
20	67	28	5
21	67	28	5
22	67	28	5
23	66	29	5
24	66	29	5
25	67	28	5
26	67	28	5
27	68	27	5
28	68	27	5
29	70	26	4
30	71	25	4
31	72	24	4

Wind in March

Winds average 17 km/h in March.

Across March, 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 March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 hours at the start of March to 11 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 84 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:06 AM to 7:40 AM, and sunset from 8:08 PM to 7:18 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)	13.0	13.0	12.9	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.6
Sunrise (AM)	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:17	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:40
Sunset (PM)	8:08	8:07	8:05	8:04	8:02	8:00	7:59	7:57	7:56	7:54	7:52	7:51	7:49	7:47	7:46	7:44	7:42	7:40	7:39	7:37	7:35	7:34	7:32	7:30	7:28	7:27	7:25	7:23	7:21	7:20	7:18

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.0	7:06	8:08
2	13.0	7:07	8:07
3	12.9	7:08	8:05
4	12.9	7:10	8:04
5	12.9	7:11	8:02
6	12.8	7:12	8:00
7	12.8	7:13	7:59
8	12.7	7:14	7:57
9	12.7	7:15	7:56
10	12.6	7:17	7:54
11	12.6	7:18	7:52
12	12.5	7:19	7:51
13	12.5	7:20	7:49
14	12.4	7:21	7:47
15	12.4	7:22	7:46
16	12.3	7:23	7:44
17	12.3	7:24	7:42
18	12.2	7:26	7:40
19	12.2	7:27	7:39
20	12.2	7:28	7:37
21	12.1	7:29	7:35
22	12.1	7:30	7:34
23	12.0	7:31	7:32
24	12.0	7:32	7:30
25	11.9	7:33	7:28
26	11.9	7:34	7:27
27	11.8	7:36	7:25
28	11.8	7:37	7:23
29	11.7	7:38	7:21
30	11.7	7:39	7:20
31	11.6	7:40	7:18

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.92 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.7 kWh/m² to a high of 7.55 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 4.92 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)	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.3	5.3	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.9	4.9	4.8	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1
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	5.7	Bright
2	5.6	Bright
3	5.6	Bright
4	5.5	Bright
5	5.5	Bright
6	5.4	Bright
7	5.4	Bright
8	5.3	Bright
9	5.3	Bright
10	5.2	Bright
11	5.2	Bright
12	5.1	Bright
13	5.1	Bright
14	5.0	Bright
15	5.0	Bright
16	4.9	Bright
17	4.9	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.8	Bright
20	4.7	Bright
21	4.7	Bright
22	4.6	Bright
23	4.5	Bright
24	4.5	Bright
25	4.4	Bright
26	4.4	Bright
27	4.3	Bright
28	4.3	Bright
29	4.2	Bright
30	4.2	Bright
31	4.1	Bright

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Picton?

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

6.7

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

2.8

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Picton for sightseeing.

What to pack for Picton in March

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

In March, Picton sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 13°C. Worth packing: sun protection. About 7 days see rain.

sun protection

Sea temperature near Picton in March

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

The sea at the nearest coast (about 14 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°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)	16	17	16	15	14	13	12	12	12	13	14	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

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

UV index in Picton in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March 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 Picton 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 Picton?

Picton sits at 41.3°S, 174.0°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Blenheim, 25 km away.

Topography around Picton

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Picton has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 675 m around an average of 157 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,051 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,066 m.

The land around Picton is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (60%) and water (31%) within 16 km, and water (57%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

675 m

trees 79%

16 km

1,051 m

trees 60%

80 km

2,066 m

water 57%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswater

← February Picton year-round climate April →Best places to visit in March

March weather nearby: Blenheim 25 km · Nelson 61 km · Karori 61 km · Wellington 64 km · Stoke 65 km · Richmond 69 km · Porirua 73 km · Lower Hutt 76 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 Picton (-41.2907°, 174.008°, 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	20	13
2	20	13
3	20	13
4	20	13
5	20	13
6	20	13
7	19	13
8	19	13
9	19	13
10	19	13
11	19	13
12	19	13
13	19	13
14	19	13
15	19	13
16	19	13
17	19	12
18	19	12
19	19	12
20	19	12
21	19	12
22	19	12
23	19	12
24	19	12
25	18	12
26	18	12
27	18	12
28	18	12
29	18	12
30	18	12
31	18	12

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	60	32	8
2	62	31	7
3	63	30	7
4	64	29	7
5	66	28	6
6	66	28	6
7	67	27	6
8	68	26	6
9	68	26	6
10	69	26	5
11	69	26	5
12	69	26	5
13	69	26	5
14	69	26	5
15	69	26	5
16	69	26	5
17	68	27	5
18	68	27	5
19	68	27	5
20	67	28	5
21	67	28	5
22	67	28	5
23	66	29	5
24	66	29	5
25	67	28	5
26	67	28	5
27	68	27	5
28	68	27	5
29	70	26	4
30	71	25	4
31	72	24	4

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	60	32	8
2	62	31	7
3	63	30	7
4	64	29	7
5	66	28	6
6	66	28	6
7	67	27	6
8	68	26	6
9	68	26	6
10	69	26	5
11	69	26	5
12	69	26	5
13	69	26	5
14	69	26	5
15	69	26	5
16	69	26	5
17	68	27	5
18	68	27	5
19	68	27	5
20	67	28	5
21	67	28	5
22	67	28	5
23	66	29	5
24	66	29	5
25	67	28	5
26	67	28	5
27	68	27	5
28	68	27	5
29	70	26	4
30	71	25	4
31	72	24	4

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

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

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	60	32	8
2	62	31	7
3	63	30	7
4	64	29	7
5	66	28	6
6	66	28	6
7	67	27	6
8	68	26	6
9	68	26	6
10	69	26	5
11	69	26	5
12	69	26	5
13	69	26	5
14	69	26	5
15	69	26	5
16	69	26	5
17	68	27	5
18	68	27	5
19	68	27	5
20	67	28	5
21	67	28	5
22	67	28	5
23	66	29	5
24	66	29	5
25	67	28	5
26	67	28	5
27	68	27	5
28	68	27	5
29	70	26	4
30	71	25	4
31	72	24	4