Queenstown weather in March

In March, Queenstown sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 108 mm of precipitation across 11.8 wet days and about 12.4 hours of daylight. It is the 4th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 15°C in the first days to 13°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 12 min at the start of March to 11 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Queenstown's 2nd-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Queenstown's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 4th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 10th coldest
Precipitation: 108 mm; 11.8 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 24 min; 7:43 AM – 8:07 PM
Cloud cover: 68%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 6 km/h; 6th windiest
Solar energy: 4.01 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.8; out of 10

Queenstown is resort town in Otago Region, New Zealand.

Founded: 1863

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

← February Queenstown 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 15°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical March day in Queenstown reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 18°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 2°C cooler than February and about 3°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)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5

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

How March really feels in Queenstown

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

March sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Queenstown weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 4th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	16° / 7°	127	12.3	0.5	15	4.6
Feb	16° / 7°	92	10.3	0.3	13.9	4.8
Mar	14° / 6°	108	11.8	0.5	12.4	3.8
Apr	11° / 3°	101	11.3	1.8	10.8	2.4
May	7° / 1°	125	14.3	5.2	9.4	0.7
Jun	3° / -3°	98	12.6	7.9	8.6	0.0
Jul	1° / -4°	90	11.2	8.9	8.9	0.0
Aug	3° / -2°	89	11.3	8.4	10.1	0.0
Sep	5° / -1°	125	13.7	8.1	11.7	0.2
Oct	8° / 1°	133	15.3	6.4	13.3	1.3
Nov	11° / 3°	131	14.6	3.9	14.7	2.5
Dec	14° / 6°	135	14.9	1	15.4	3.6

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 18% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 65%.

	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	38	38	38	37	37	36	35	35	34	34	33	32	32	32	31	32	32	32	32	33	32	32	33	33	33
Cloudier (%)	61	61	61	61	61	61	62	62	62	63	63	64	65	65	66	66	67	68	68	68	69	68	68	68	68	67	68	68	67	67	67

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	34	66
16	34	66
17	33	67
18	32	68
19	32	68
20	32	68
21	31	69
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	33	67
27	32	68
28	32	68
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Queenstown gets around 108 mm of rain and snow over 11.8 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 38% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow.

	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 (%)	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	38	38	38	38	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	38	37	37	37	37	37	37	37
Snow chance (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3

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

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 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	31
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	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
31	100

Wind in March

Winds average 6 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 6 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)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
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	6	calm
2	6	calm
3	6	calm
4	6	calm
5	6	calm
6	6	calm
7	6	calm
8	6	calm
9	6	calm
10	6	calm
11	6	calm
12	6	calm
13	6	calm
14	6	calm
15	6	calm
16	6	calm
17	6	calm
18	6	calm
19	6	calm
20	6	calm
21	6	calm
22	6	calm
23	6	calm
24	6	calm
25	6	calm
26	6	calm
27	6	calm
28	6	calm
29	6	calm
30	6	calm
31	6	calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 12 min 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 96 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:23 AM to 8:03 AM, and sunset from 8:34 PM to 7:38 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)	13.2	13.1	13.1	13.0	13.0	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.6	11.6
Sunrise (AM)	7:23	7:24	7:26	7:27	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:49	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:58	7:59	8:00	8:02	8:03
Sunset (PM)	8:34	8:32	8:31	8:29	8:27	8:25	8:23	8:22	8:20	8:18	8:16	8:14	8:12	8:10	8:09	8:07	8:05	8:03	8:01	7:59	7:57	7:55	7:53	7:51	7:49	7:47	7:46	7:44	7:42	7:40	7:38

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.2	7:23	8:34
2	13.1	7:24	8:32
3	13.1	7:26	8:31
4	13.0	7:27	8:29
5	13.0	7:29	8:27
6	12.9	7:30	8:25
7	12.9	7:31	8:23
8	12.8	7:33	8:22
9	12.8	7:34	8:20
10	12.7	7:35	8:18
11	12.7	7:37	8:16
12	12.6	7:38	8:14
13	12.6	7:39	8:12
14	12.5	7:41	8:10
15	12.4	7:42	8:09
16	12.4	7:43	8:07
17	12.3	7:45	8:05
18	12.3	7:46	8:03
19	12.2	7:47	8:01
20	12.2	7:49	7:59
21	12.1	7:50	7:57
22	12.1	7:51	7:55
23	12.0	7:52	7:53
24	12.0	7:54	7:51
25	11.9	7:55	7:49
26	11.9	7:56	7:47
27	11.8	7:58	7:46
28	11.7	7:59	7:44
29	11.7	8:00	7:42
30	11.6	8:02	7:40
31	11.6	8:03	7:38

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.01 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.18 kWh/m² to a high of 6.48 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 4.01 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)	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.8	Bright
2	4.7	Bright
3	4.7	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.6	Bright
6	4.5	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.5	Bright
9	4.4	Bright
10	4.3	Bright
11	4.3	Bright
12	4.2	Bright
13	4.2	Bright
14	4.1	Bright
15	4.1	Bright
16	4.0	Bright
17	4.0	Moderate
18	3.9	Moderate
19	3.9	Moderate
20	3.8	Moderate
21	3.8	Moderate
22	3.7	Moderate
23	3.7	Moderate
24	3.6	Moderate
25	3.6	Moderate
26	3.5	Moderate
27	3.5	Moderate
28	3.4	Moderate
29	3.4	Moderate
30	3.4	Moderate
31	3.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Queenstown?

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

3.8

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

March is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Queenstown.

What to pack for Queenstown in March

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

In March, Queenstown sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 12 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Queenstown 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 Queenstown peaks around January 14 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 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	9	6	3	2	1	2	2	5	6	8	10
Level	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	9	Very high
Mar	6	High
Apr	3	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	2	Moderate
Sep	5	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	10	Very high

Location & terrain

Where is Queenstown?

Queenstown sits at 45.0°S, 168.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Wanaka, 53 km away.

Topography around Queenstown

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Queenstown has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,008 m around an average of 513 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,956 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,884 m.

The land around Queenstown is covered by trees (42%) and water (32%) within 3 km, grassland (55%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and grassland (64%) and trees (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

1,008 m

trees 42%

16 km

1,956 m

grassland 55%

80 km

2,884 m

grassland 64%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater

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

March weather nearby: Wanaka 53 km · Invercargill 154 km · Dunedin 172 km · Tekapo 184 km · Timaru 216 km · Franz Josef 219 km · Ashburton 274 km · Rolleston 337 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 Queenstown (-45.0302°, 168.6627°, 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. 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	15	6
2	15	6
3	15	6
4	15	6
5	15	6
6	15	6
7	15	6
8	14	6
9	14	6
10	14	6
11	14	6
12	14	6
13	14	6
14	14	6
15	14	6
16	14	6
17	14	6
18	14	6
19	14	6
20	14	6
21	14	6
22	14	6
23	14	5
24	14	5
25	13	5
26	13	5
27	13	5
28	13	5
29	13	5
30	13	5
31	13	5

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	34	66
16	34	66
17	33	67
18	32	68
19	32	68
20	32	68
21	31	69
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	33	67
27	32	68
28	32	68
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

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

	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
31	100

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	34	66
16	34	66
17	33	67
18	32	68
19	32	68
20	32	68
21	31	69
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	33	67
27	32	68
28	32	68
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

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

	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
31	100

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	39	61
2	39	61
3	39	61
4	39	61
5	39	61
6	39	61
7	38	62
8	38	62
9	38	62
10	37	63
11	37	63
12	36	64
13	35	65
14	35	65
15	34	66
16	34	66
17	33	67
18	32	68
19	32	68
20	32	68
21	31	69
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	32	68
26	33	67
27	32	68
28	32	68
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

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

	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
31	100