Whanganui weather in March

In March, Whanganui sees average daytime highs of 18°C and overnight lows near 15°C, with 68 mm of rain across 9.6 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 11th-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 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 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Whanganui's 2nd-clearest and 10th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whanganui's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 18°; 3rd warmest
Overnight low: 15°; 10th coldest
Rainfall: 68 mm; 9.6 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 7:20 AM – 7:39 PM
Cloud cover: 52%; 2nd clearest
Wind: 20 km/h; 10th windiest
Solar energy: 4.57 kWh/m²
Travel score: 6.2; out of 10

Whanganui is city in New Zealand's North Island.

Density: 20,736/km²; people per km²

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

← February Whanganui 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

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

A typical March day in Whanganui reaches about 18°C in the afternoon and slips back to 15°C overnight — a 4°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 1°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)	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	19	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18	18
Avg low (°C)	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14

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

Whanganui 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	19° / 15°	71	9.3	14.5	6.3
Feb	20° / 16°	66	8.1	13.6	6.5
Mar	18° / 15°	68	9.6	12.3	6.2
Apr	17° / 13°	98	11	11	5.2
May	15° / 11°	97	12.4	9.8	4.3
Jun	13° / 10°	109	14.1	9.2	3.2
Jul	12° / 9°	105	14.3	9.5	2.9
Aug	12° / 9°	102	14.7	10.4	3.0
Sep	13° / 10°	97	13.6	11.7	3.4
Oct	14° / 11°	107	14.2	13.1	3.8
Nov	16° / 12°	89	12.2	14.2	4.6
Dec	17° / 14°	100	12.7	14.8	5.4

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 17% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 43%. Skies tend to cloud over as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	60	60	59	59	59	59	59	58	58	58	57	57	57	58	57	57	57	57	56	56	56	56	56	56	56	54	54	54	53	53	53
Cloudier (%)	40	40	41	41	41	41	41	42	42	42	43	43	43	42	43	43	43	43	44	44	44	44	44	44	44	46	46	46	47	47	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	58	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	43
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	58	42
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	57	43
19	56	44
20	56	44
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	56	44
24	56	44
25	56	44
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Whanganui gets around 68 mm of rain over 9.6 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 31% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	28	28	28	28	29	29	29	30	30	31	31	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	34	34	35	35	36	36

	Rain chance (%)
1	27
2	27
3	27
4	27
5	27
6	27
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	29
13	29
14	29
15	30
16	30
17	31
18	31
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	33
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	34
27	34
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

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 47% 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 (%)	40	42	43	44	45	46	47	47	48	49	49	49	49	49	48	48	48	47	47	46	46	45	45	45	46	46	47	48	49	50	52
Comfortable (%)	40	40	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	40	40	41	42	43	44	44	45	46	46	46	47	47	47	47	46	46	45	44	43	41
Humid (%)	19	18	18	17	16	15	14	14	13	12	11	11	10	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	7	7	7

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	40	40	19
2	42	40	18
3	43	39	18
4	44	39	17
5	45	39	16
6	46	39	15
7	47	39	14
8	47	39	14
9	48	39	13
10	49	39	12
11	49	40	11
12	49	40	11
13	49	41	10
14	49	42	9
15	48	43	9
16	48	44	8
17	48	44	8
18	47	45	8
19	47	46	8
20	46	46	8
21	46	46	8
22	45	47	8
23	45	47	8
24	45	47	8
25	46	47	8
26	46	46	8
27	47	46	8
28	48	45	8
29	49	44	7
30	50	43	7
31	52	41	7

Wind in March

Winds average 20 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 20 km/h on the calmest days to 21 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)	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	21	21	21	21	21	21	21	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20
Feels	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	light breeze	breezy	breezy	breezy

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	20	breezy
2	20	breezy
3	20	breezy
4	20	breezy
5	20	breezy
6	20	breezy
7	20	breezy
8	20	breezy
9	20	breezy
10	20	breezy
11	21	breezy
12	21	breezy
13	21	breezy
14	21	breezy
15	21	breezy
16	21	breezy
17	21	breezy
18	20	breezy
19	20	breezy
20	20	breezy
21	20	breezy
22	20	breezy
23	20	breezy
24	20	breezy
25	20	breezy
26	20	breezy
27	20	breezy
28	20	light breeze
29	20	breezy
30	20	breezy
31	20	breezy

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 hours at the start of March to 11 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 78 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:03 AM to 7:35 AM, and sunset from 8:03 PM to 7:14 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	12.9	12.9	12.9	12.8	12.8	12.7	12.7	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.4	12.4	12.3	12.3	12.2	12.2	12.1	12.1	12.1	12.0	12.0	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.8	11.7	11.7	11.7
Sunrise (AM)	7:03	7:05	7:06	7:07	7:08	7:09	7:10	7:11	7:12	7:13	7:14	7:15	7:16	7:18	7:19	7:20	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:29	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:35
Sunset (PM)	8:03	8:01	8:00	7:58	7:57	7:55	7:54	7:52	7:50	7:49	7:47	7:46	7:44	7:42	7:41	7:39	7:38	7:36	7:34	7:33	7:31	7:29	7:28	7:26	7:24	7:23	7:21	7:19	7:18	7:16	7:14

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	13.0	7:03	8:03
2	12.9	7:05	8:01
3	12.9	7:06	8:00
4	12.9	7:07	7:58
5	12.8	7:08	7:57
6	12.8	7:09	7:55
7	12.7	7:10	7:54
8	12.7	7:11	7:52
9	12.6	7:12	7:50
10	12.6	7:13	7:49
11	12.5	7:14	7:47
12	12.5	7:15	7:46
13	12.5	7:16	7:44
14	12.4	7:18	7:42
15	12.4	7:19	7:41
16	12.3	7:20	7:39
17	12.3	7:21	7:38
18	12.2	7:22	7:36
19	12.2	7:23	7:34
20	12.1	7:24	7:33
21	12.1	7:25	7:31
22	12.1	7:26	7:29
23	12.0	7:27	7:28
24	12.0	7:28	7:26
25	11.9	7:29	7:24
26	11.9	7:30	7:23
27	11.8	7:31	7:21
28	11.8	7:32	7:19
29	11.7	7:33	7:18
30	11.7	7:34	7:16
31	11.7	7:35	7:14

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 4.57 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.64 kWh/m² to a high of 7 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 4.57 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)	5.3	5.2	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	4.6	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.0	3.9	3.9	3.8
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	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.3	Bright
2	5.2	Bright
3	5.2	Bright
4	5.2	Bright
5	5.1	Bright
6	5.1	Bright
7	5.0	Bright
8	5.0	Bright
9	4.9	Bright
10	4.9	Bright
11	4.8	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.7	Bright
14	4.7	Bright
15	4.6	Bright
16	4.6	Bright
17	4.5	Bright
18	4.5	Bright
19	4.4	Bright
20	4.4	Bright
21	4.3	Bright
22	4.3	Bright
23	4.2	Bright
24	4.2	Bright
25	4.1	Bright
26	4.1	Bright
27	4.0	Bright
28	4.0	Moderate
29	3.9	Moderate
30	3.9	Moderate
31	3.8	Moderate

Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Whanganui?

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

6.2

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

2.3

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Whanganui for sightseeing.

What to pack for Whanganui in March

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

In March, Whanganui sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 10 days see rain.

rain gearsun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Whanganui in March

The nearest coast averages about 18°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 16 km away) is warmest in February at about 19°C and coldest in August near 13°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)	18	19	18	17	16	14	13	13	13	14	15	16
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	18	Cool
Feb	19	Cool
Mar	18	Cool
Apr	17	Cool
May	16	Cool
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	13	Bracing
Aug	13	Bracing
Sep	13	Bracing
Oct	14	Bracing
Nov	15	Bracing
Dec	16	Cool

UV index in Whanganui in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Whanganui peaks around January 12 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	12	11	7	5	2	2	2	3	4	7	10	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	11	Extreme
Mar	7	High
Apr	5	Moderate
May	2	Moderate
Jun	2	Low
Jul	2	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	7	High
Nov	10	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Whanganui?

Whanganui sits at 39.9°S, 175.1°E, 18 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Palmerston North, 67 km away.

Topography around Whanganui

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whanganui has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 103 m around an average of 28 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 300 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,746 m.

The land around Whanganui is covered by grassland (39%), artificial surfaces (28%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, grassland (42%), water (32%) and trees (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (44%), trees (29%) and water (25%) within 80 km.

3 km

103 m

grassland 39%

16 km

300 m

grassland 42%

80 km

1,746 m

grassland 44%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

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

March weather nearby: Palmerston North 67 km · Levin 80 km · Paraparaumu 109 km · Masterton 125 km · New Plymouth 127 km · Upper Hutt 134 km · Porirua 135 km · Lower Hutt 143 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 Whanganui (-39.9333°, 175.05°, elevation 18 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	19	15
2	19	15
3	19	15
4	19	15
5	19	15
6	19	15
7	19	15
8	19	15
9	19	15
10	19	15
11	19	15
12	19	15
13	19	15
14	18	15
15	18	15
16	18	15
17	18	14
18	18	14
19	18	14
20	18	14
21	18	14
22	18	14
23	18	14
24	18	14
25	18	14
26	18	14
27	18	14
28	18	14
29	18	14
30	18	14
31	18	14

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	58	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	43
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	58	42
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	57	43
19	56	44
20	56	44
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	56	44
24	56	44
25	56	44
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	27
2	27
3	27
4	27
5	27
6	27
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	29
13	29
14	29
15	30
16	30
17	31
18	31
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	33
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	34
27	34
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	40	40	19
2	42	40	18
3	43	39	18
4	44	39	17
5	45	39	16
6	46	39	15
7	47	39	14
8	47	39	14
9	48	39	13
10	49	39	12
11	49	40	11
12	49	40	11
13	49	41	10
14	49	42	9
15	48	43	9
16	48	44	8
17	48	44	8
18	47	45	8
19	47	46	8
20	46	46	8
21	46	46	8
22	45	47	8
23	45	47	8
24	45	47	8
25	46	47	8
26	46	46	8
27	47	46	8
28	48	45	8
29	49	44	7
30	50	43	7
31	52	41	7

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	58	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	43
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	58	42
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	57	43
19	56	44
20	56	44
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	56	44
24	56	44
25	56	44
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	27
2	27
3	27
4	27
5	27
6	27
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	29
13	29
14	29
15	30
16	30
17	31
18	31
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	33
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	34
27	34
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	40	40	19
2	42	40	18
3	43	39	18
4	44	39	17
5	45	39	16
6	46	39	15
7	47	39	14
8	47	39	14
9	48	39	13
10	49	39	12
11	49	40	11
12	49	40	11
13	49	41	10
14	49	42	9
15	48	43	9
16	48	44	8
17	48	44	8
18	47	45	8
19	47	46	8
20	46	46	8
21	46	46	8
22	45	47	8
23	45	47	8
24	45	47	8
25	46	47	8
26	46	46	8
27	47	46	8
28	48	45	8
29	49	44	7
30	50	43	7
31	52	41	7

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	60	40
2	60	40
3	59	41
4	59	41
5	59	41
6	59	41
7	59	41
8	58	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	43
12	57	43
13	57	43
14	58	42
15	57	43
16	57	43
17	57	43
18	57	43
19	56	44
20	56	44
21	56	44
22	56	44
23	56	44
24	56	44
25	56	44
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	53	47
30	53	47
31	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	27
2	27
3	27
4	27
5	27
6	27
7	28
8	28
9	28
10	28
11	28
12	29
13	29
14	29
15	30
16	30
17	31
18	31
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	33
23	33
24	33
25	33
26	34
27	34
28	35
29	35
30	36
31	36

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)	Humid (%)
1	40	40	19
2	42	40	18
3	43	39	18
4	44	39	17
5	45	39	16
6	46	39	15
7	47	39	14
8	47	39	14
9	48	39	13
10	49	39	12
11	49	40	11
12	49	40	11
13	49	41	10
14	49	42	9
15	48	43	9
16	48	44	8
17	48	44	8
18	47	45	8
19	47	46	8
20	46	46	8
21	46	46	8
22	45	47	8
23	45	47	8
24	45	47	8
25	46	47	8
26	46	46	8
27	47	46	8
28	48	45	8
29	49	44	7
30	50	43	7
31	52	41	7