Rolleston weather in August

In August, Rolleston sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 54 mm of precipitation across 9.8 wet days and about 10.2 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 6th-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 34% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 36 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Rolleston's 4th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rolleston's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12°
10th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
54 mm
9.8 wet days
Daylight
10 h 12 min
8:29 AM – 6:40 PM
Cloud cover
57%
4th clearest
Wind
11 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
2.54 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.4
out of 10

Rolleston is town in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Density
1,545/km²
people per km²

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

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

A typical August day in Rolleston reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 3°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 1°C warmer than July and about 2°C cooler than September.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1123
2123
3123
4123
5123
6123
7123
8123
9123
10123
11123
12123
13123
14123
15123
16123
17123
18123
19123
20123
21123
22133
23133
24134
25134
26134
27134
28134
29134
30134
31134

How August really feels in Rolleston

Once humidity and wind are folded in, August averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 16 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
16
wind chill below the day's low

The story in August is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Rolleston weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 10th-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan22° / 12°538.114.96.8
Feb22° / 12°416.113.87.1
Mar20° / 10°446.512.46.8
Apr17° / 518.410.85.7
May14° / 4889.54.4
Jun11° / 5898.83.0
Jul11° / 548.29.12.8
Aug12° / 549.810.23.4
Sep14° / 509.411.74.4
Oct16° / 5710.813.25.1
Nov18° / 579.814.55.9
Dec20° / 11°599.815.26.2

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 52%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14951
24951
34852
44852
54753
64753
74654
84654
94654
104654
114654
124654
134654
144654
154753
164852
174852
184852
194852
204852
214951
224951
234951
244951
254951
264951
275050
284951
294852
304852
314753

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitation

Rolleston gets around 54 mm of rain and snow over 9.8 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
128
229
329
430
531
631
732
832
933
1033
1134
1234
1334
1434
1534
1634
1734
1834
1933
2033
2132
2232
2331
2431
2530
2630
2730
2830
2929
3029
3129

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, August lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in August

Winds average 11 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1111calm
1211calm
1311calm
1411calm
1511calm
1611calm
1711calm
1811calm
1911calm
2011calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 78 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 8:50 AM to 8:03 AM, and sunset from 6:23 PM to 6:58 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.68:506:23
29.68:486:25
39.68:476:26
49.78:466:27
59.78:456:28
69.88:436:29
79.88:426:30
89.88:416:31
99.98:396:32
109.98:386:33
1110.08:366:35
1210.08:356:36
1310.18:336:37
1410.18:326:38
1510.18:306:39
1610.28:296:40
1710.28:276:41
1810.38:266:43
1910.38:246:44
2010.48:226:45
2110.48:216:46
2210.58:196:47
2310.58:176:48
2410.68:166:49
2510.68:146:51
2610.78:126:52
2710.78:116:53
2810.88:096:54
2910.88:076:55
3010.98:056:56
3110.98:036:58

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 2.54 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.46 kWh/m² to a high of 6.98 kWh/m² in January across the year — August's 2.54 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.0Moderate
22.1Moderate
32.1Moderate
42.1Moderate
52.1Moderate
62.2Moderate
72.2Moderate
82.2Moderate
92.3Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.3Moderate
122.4Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.5Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.6Moderate
182.6Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.7Moderate
212.7Moderate
222.8Moderate
232.8Moderate
242.9Moderate
252.9Moderate
263.0Moderate
273.0Moderate
283.0Moderate
293.1Moderate
303.1Moderate
313.2Moderate
Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Rolleston?

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

3.4
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Rolleston.

What to pack for Rolleston in August

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

In August, Rolleston sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 3°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Rolleston in August

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in August — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 32 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 9°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan17Cool
Feb17Cool
Mar16Cool
Apr14Bracing
May13Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul9Bracing
Aug9Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct12Bracing
Nov14Bracing
Dec15Cool

UV index in Rolleston in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rolleston peaks around January 16 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 16UV 11Jun 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb10Very high
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep4Moderate
Oct6High
Nov8Very high
Dec10Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Rolleston?

Rolleston sits at 43.6°S, 172.4°E, 60 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Christchurch, 21 km away.

TimaruTekapoKaikouraFranz JosefRichmond

Topography around Rolleston

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rolleston has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 45 m around an average of 59 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 166 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,161 m.

The land around Rolleston is covered by grassland (42%) and cropland (27%) within 3 km, grassland (52%) and cropland (30%) within 16 km, and water (37%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
45 m
16 km
166 m
80 km
2,161 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
August weather nearby: Christchurch 21 km · Rangiora 35 km · Ashburton 63 km · Timaru 128 km · Tekapo 160 km · Kaikoura 167 km · Franz Josef 179 km · Richmond 259 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
no religion 49%Christian 37%objected to answering 7%Hindu 3%

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 Rolleston (-43.5833°, 172.3833°, elevation 60 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).