Tekapo weather in February

In February, Tekapo sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 86 mm of precipitation across 9.4 wet days and about 13.8 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 12th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 24 min at the start of February to 13 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Tekapo's 3rd-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Tekapo's year-round climate.

Daytime high
18°
1st warmest
Overnight low
12th coldest
Precipitation
86 mm
9.4 wet days
Daylight
13 h 48 min
6:58 AM – 8:47 PM
Cloud cover
59%
3rd clearest
Wind
7 km/h
8th windiest
Solar energy
5.51 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.8
out of 10

Tekapo is locality in Mackenzie District, Canterbury Region, New Zealand.

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

Temperature in February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 18°C through the month.

A typical February day in Tekapo reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs on par with January and about 2°C warmer than March.

10°15°20°25°151015202528
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1189
2189
3189
4189
5189
6189
7189
8189
9189
10189
11189
12189
13189
14189
15189
16189
17189
18189
19189
20189
21189
22189
23179
24179
25178
26178
27178
28178

How February really feels in Tekapo

Once humidity and wind are folded in, February 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
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

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

Tekapo weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 1st-warmest and 12th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan18° / 10810.90.114.95.6
Feb18° / 869.40.113.85.8
Mar16° / 939.40.212.45.0
Apr13° / 9710.60.910.83.5
May / 10511.429.51.9
Jun / -1°9710.64.38.80.2
Jul / -2°9410.35.690.0
Aug / -1°8811.25.110.20.2
Sep / 10312.7411.71.5
Oct11° / 11913.63.513.22.5
Nov14° / 11112.7214.63.6
Dec16° / 11412.50.415.24.6

Cloud cover in February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 52%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14456
24456
34555
44555
54555
64654
74654
84654
94654
104753
114753
124753
134951
144951
155050
164951
174951
185050
195149
205149
215248
225149
235149
245149
255050
265050
274951
284951

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitation

Tekapo gets around 86 mm of rain and snow over 9.4 wet days in February, the driest month. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 34% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202528
Rain chance (%)
131
231
331
431
531
631
731
832
932
1032
1133
1233
1334
1434
1535
1635
1736
1836
1936
2036
2136
2236
2336
2435
2535
2634
2734
2833

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, February lands in the dry band about 96% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202528
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1937
2937
3937
4946
5946
6946
7955
8955
9955
10955
11955
12955
13964
14964
15964
16964
17964
18964
19973
20973
21973
22973
23973
24973
25973
26982
27982
28982

Wind in February

Winds average 7 km/h in February.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 6 km/h on the calmest days to 7 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202528
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
17calm
27calm
37calm
47calm
57calm
67calm
77calm
87calm
97calm
107calm
117calm
126calm
136calm
146calm
156calm
166calm
176calm
186calm
196calm
207calm
217calm
227calm
237calm
247calm
257calm
267calm
277calm
287calm

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 24 min at the start of February to 13 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 72 minutes over February. Sunrise moves from 6:39 AM to 7:16 AM, and sunset from 9:04 PM to 8:27 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202528
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
114.46:399:04
214.46:409:03
314.36:429:02
414.36:439:01
514.36:459:00
614.26:468:59
714.26:478:57
814.16:498:56
914.16:508:55
1014.06:518:54
1114.06:538:53
1214.06:548:51
1313.96:558:50
1413.96:578:49
1513.86:588:47
1613.87:008:46
1713.77:018:44
1813.77:028:43
1913.67:048:41
2013.67:058:40
2113.57:068:38
2213.57:088:37
2313.47:098:35
2413.47:108:34
2513.37:128:32
2613.37:138:30
2713.27:148:29
2813.27:168:27

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 5.51 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.45 kWh/m² to a high of 6.55 kWh/m² in January across the year — February's 5.51 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202528
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
16.0Intense
26.0Bright
35.9Bright
45.9Bright
55.8Bright
65.8Bright
75.8Bright
85.7Bright
95.7Bright
105.6Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.5Bright
145.5Bright
155.5Bright
165.4Bright
175.4Bright
185.4Bright
195.3Bright
205.3Bright
215.3Bright
225.3Bright
235.2Bright
245.2Bright
255.1Bright
265.1Bright
275.1Bright
285.0Bright
Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Tekapo?

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

5.8
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
1.8
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

February is a reasonable time to visit Tekapo for sightseeing.

What to pack for Tekapo in February

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

In February, Tekapo sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 9 days see rain.

rain gearsun protection

UV index in Tekapo in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 16UV 11Jun 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb10Extreme
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug3Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct6High
Nov9Very high
Dec10Extreme
Location & terrain

Where is Tekapo?

Tekapo sits at 44.0°S, 170.5°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Franz Josef, 73 km away.

AshburtonWanakaRollestonChristchurchQueenstownRangiora

Topography around Tekapo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tekapo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 358 m around an average of 746 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,523 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,635 m.

The land around Tekapo is covered by grassland (65%) within 3 km, grassland (84%) within 16 km, and grassland (61%) within 80 km.

3 km
358 m
16 km
1,523 m
80 km
3,635 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater
February weather nearby: Franz Josef 73 km · Timaru 75 km · Ashburton 101 km · Wanaka 131 km · Rolleston 160 km · Christchurch 181 km · Queenstown 184 km · Rangiora 186 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 Tekapo (-44.0064°, 170.4803°, 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).