Wanaka weather in October

In October, Wanaka sees average daytime highs of 11°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 118 mm of precipitation across 14 wet days and about 13.3 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 10°C in the first days to 12°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 30 min at the start of October to 14 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Wanaka's 7th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wanaka's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 11°; 7th warmest
Overnight low: 2°; 6th coldest
Precipitation: 118 mm; 14 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 18 min; 6:50 AM – 8:07 PM
Cloud cover: 69%; 7th clearest
Wind: 7 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 5.02 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.4; out of 10

Wanaka is ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.

Density: 461/km²; people per km²

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

← September Wanaka year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

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

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 10°C in the first days to 12°C by the end.

A typical October day in Wanaka reaches about 11°C in the afternoon and slips back to 2°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 7°C and 14°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 3°C warmer than September and about 3°C cooler than November.

	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)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Avg low (°C)	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4

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

How October really feels in Wanaka

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 14 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

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

Wanaka weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 7th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	17° / 9°	113	11.2	0.1	15	5.4
Feb	18° / 9°	81	9.3	0.1	13.9	5.6
Mar	15° / 7°	96	10.5	0.1	12.4	4.6
Apr	12° / 4°	89	10.2	0.5	10.8	3.2
May	8° / 2°	104	12.7	2.2	9.4	1.4
Jun	4° / -1°	85	10.6	4.3	8.7	0.0
Jul	3° / -3°	79	9.7	5	9	0.0
Aug	5° / -1°	78	10.6	4.6	10.1	0.2
Sep	8° / 1°	110	12.8	3.9	11.7	1.3
Oct	11° / 2°	118	14	2.7	13.3	2.4
Nov	13° / 5°	116	13.4	1.2	14.6	3.4
Dec	16° / 7°	124	14.1	0.3	15.3	4.4

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 66%.

	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 (%)	35	35	35	34	34	34	34	34	35	34	34	35	34	34	35	35	35	35	34	34	34	33	33	34	33	33	33	33	33	33	33
Cloudier (%)	65	65	65	66	66	66	66	66	65	66	66	65	66	66	65	65	65	65	66	66	66	67	67	66	67	67	67	67	67	67	67

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	34	66
11	34	66
12	35	65
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	34	66
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitationSnow

Wanaka gets around 118 mm of rain and snow over 14 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 45% and peaks near 47% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring 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 (%)	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	46	45	45	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	43	43
Snow chance (%)	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	9	9	9	8	8	8	7	7	7	6	6	6	5	5	5	5

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	46	12
2	46	12
3	46	12
4	46	12
5	46	12
6	46	11
7	46	11
8	46	11
9	47	11
10	47	11
11	47	11
12	47	11
13	47	11
14	47	10
15	47	10
16	47	9
17	46	9
18	46	9
19	46	8
20	45	8
21	45	8
22	45	7
23	44	7
24	44	7
25	44	6
26	43	6
27	43	6
28	43	5
29	43	5
30	43	5
31	43	5

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, October 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 October

Winds average 7 km/h in October.

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

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 30 min at the start of October to 14 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 90 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 7:18 AM to 6:27 AM, and sunset from 7:47 PM to 8:27 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)	12.5	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.9	13.0	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0
Sunrise (AM)	7:18	7:16	7:14	7:12	7:10	7:08	7:06	7:05	7:03	7:01	6:59	6:57	6:56	6:54	6:52	6:50	6:49	6:47	6:45	6:44	6:42	6:40	6:39	6:37	6:36	6:34	6:33	6:31	6:30	6:28	6:27
Sunset (PM)	7:47	7:48	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:55	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:03	8:04	8:05	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:11	8:12	8:13	8:15	8:16	8:17	8:19	8:20	8:21	8:23	8:24	8:26	8:27

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.5	7:18	7:47
2	12.5	7:16	7:48
3	12.6	7:14	7:50
4	12.6	7:12	7:51
5	12.7	7:10	7:52
6	12.8	7:08	7:53
7	12.8	7:06	7:55
8	12.9	7:05	7:56
9	12.9	7:03	7:57
10	13.0	7:01	7:59
11	13.0	6:59	8:00
12	13.1	6:57	8:01
13	13.1	6:56	8:03
14	13.2	6:54	8:04
15	13.2	6:52	8:05
16	13.3	6:50	8:07
17	13.3	6:49	8:08
18	13.4	6:47	8:09
19	13.4	6:45	8:11
20	13.5	6:44	8:12
21	13.5	6:42	8:13
22	13.6	6:40	8:15
23	13.6	6:39	8:16
24	13.7	6:37	8:17
25	13.7	6:36	8:19
26	13.8	6:34	8:20
27	13.8	6:33	8:21
28	13.9	6:31	8:23
29	13.9	6:30	8:24
30	14.0	6:28	8:26
31	14.0	6:27	8:27

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 5.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.21 kWh/m² to a high of 6.66 kWh/m² in January across the year — October's 5.02 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)	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7
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	4.4	Bright
2	4.4	Bright
3	4.5	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.5	Bright
6	4.6	Bright
7	4.6	Bright
8	4.7	Bright
9	4.7	Bright
10	4.8	Bright
11	4.8	Bright
12	4.9	Bright
13	4.9	Bright
14	5.0	Bright
15	5.0	Bright
16	5.1	Bright
17	5.1	Bright
18	5.2	Bright
19	5.2	Bright
20	5.3	Bright
21	5.3	Bright
22	5.3	Bright
23	5.4	Bright
24	5.4	Bright
25	5.5	Bright
26	5.5	Bright
27	5.5	Bright
28	5.5	Bright
29	5.6	Bright
30	5.6	Bright
31	5.7	Bright

Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Wanaka?

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

2.4

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Wanaka.

What to pack for Wanaka in October

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

In October, Wanaka sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

UV index in Wanaka in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October 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 Wanaka peaks around January 15 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 Wanaka?

Wanaka sits at 44.7°S, 169.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Queenstown, 53 km away.

Topography around Wanaka

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wanaka has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 258 m around an average of 325 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,573 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,837 m.

The land around Wanaka is covered by grassland (49%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) and trees (20%) within 80 km.

3 km

258 m

grassland 49%

16 km

1,573 m

grassland 64%

80 km

2,837 m

grassland 68%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewater

← September Wanaka year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

October weather nearby: Queenstown 53 km · Tekapo 131 km · Franz Josef 167 km · Dunedin 168 km · Timaru 170 km · Invercargill 199 km · Ashburton 224 km · Rolleston 286 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 Wanaka (-44.7°, 169.15°, 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	10	2
2	10	2
3	10	2
4	10	2
5	10	2
6	10	2
7	10	2
8	10	2
9	10	2
10	10	2
11	10	2
12	10	2
13	10	2
14	11	2
15	11	2
16	11	2
17	11	2
18	11	2
19	11	3
20	11	3
21	11	3
22	11	3
23	12	3
24	12	3
25	12	3
26	12	3
27	12	3
28	12	3
29	12	4
30	12	4
31	12	4

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	34	66
11	34	66
12	35	65
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	34	66
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	46	12
2	46	12
3	46	12
4	46	12
5	46	12
6	46	11
7	46	11
8	46	11
9	47	11
10	47	11
11	47	11
12	47	11
13	47	11
14	47	10
15	47	10
16	47	9
17	46	9
18	46	9
19	46	8
20	45	8
21	45	8
22	45	7
23	44	7
24	44	7
25	44	6
26	43	6
27	43	6
28	43	5
29	43	5
30	43	5
31	43	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	34	66
11	34	66
12	35	65
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	34	66
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	46	12
2	46	12
3	46	12
4	46	12
5	46	12
6	46	11
7	46	11
8	46	11
9	47	11
10	47	11
11	47	11
12	47	11
13	47	11
14	47	10
15	47	10
16	47	9
17	46	9
18	46	9
19	46	8
20	45	8
21	45	8
22	45	7
23	44	7
24	44	7
25	44	6
26	43	6
27	43	6
28	43	5
29	43	5
30	43	5
31	43	5

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	35	65
2	35	65
3	35	65
4	34	66
5	34	66
6	34	66
7	34	66
8	34	66
9	35	65
10	34	66
11	34	66
12	35	65
13	34	66
14	34	66
15	35	65
16	35	65
17	35	65
18	35	65
19	34	66
20	34	66
21	34	66
22	33	67
23	33	67
24	34	66
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	46	12
2	46	12
3	46	12
4	46	12
5	46	12
6	46	11
7	46	11
8	46	11
9	47	11
10	47	11
11	47	11
12	47	11
13	47	11
14	47	10
15	47	10
16	47	9
17	46	9
18	46	9
19	46	8
20	45	8
21	45	8
22	45	7
23	44	7
24	44	7
25	44	6
26	43	6
27	43	6
28	43	5
29	43	5
30	43	5
31	43	5

	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