Whanganui weather in October

In October, Whanganui sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 107 mm of rain across 14.2 wet days and about 13.1 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 2nd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 14°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 42 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Whanganui's 9th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Whanganui's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 107 mm; 14.2 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 06 min; 6:33 AM – 7:37 PM
Cloud cover: 59%; 9th clearest
Wind: 24 km/h; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 4.95 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.8; 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.

← September Whanganui 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

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 14°C through the month.

A typical October day in Whanganui reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 12°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 1°C warmer than September and about 1°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)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

Whanganui weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 8th-warmest and 2nd-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 October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 32% 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 50%.

	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 (%)	50	49	48	48	48	47	46	47	47	47	48	48	49	50	50	50	51	52	52	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	53	52	52	53
Cloudier (%)	50	51	52	52	52	53	54	53	53	53	52	52	51	50	50	50	49	48	48	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	47	48	48	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	48	52
5	48	52
6	47	53
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	53	47

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitation

Whanganui gets around 107 mm of rain over 14.2 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 46% and peaks near 50% on the wettest days. The odds ease 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 (%)	49	49	49	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	48	48	47	47	46	46	45	44	43	43	42	42	42	41	41	41	42	42	42	42	42

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

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 98% 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 (%)	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	99	98	98	98	97	97	96	96	95	95	94	94
Comfortable (%)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	3	3	4	4	5	5	6	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

Wind in October

Winds average 24 km/h in October, the windiest month of the year.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 23 km/h on the calmest days to 25 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)	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	25	24	24	24	24	24	23	23	23	23	23	23	23
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	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy

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

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 42 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 78 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 6:56 AM to 6:13 AM, and sunset from 7:21 PM to 7:54 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)	12.4	12.5	12.5	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.9	12.9	13.0	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7
Sunrise (AM)	6:56	6:55	6:53	6:51	6:50	6:48	6:46	6:45	6:43	6:42	6:40	6:39	6:37	6:36	6:34	6:33	6:31	6:30	6:28	6:27	6:25	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13
Sunset (PM)	7:21	7:22	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:37	7:38	7:39	7:40	7:41	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.4	6:56	7:21
2	12.5	6:55	7:22
3	12.5	6:53	7:23
4	12.5	6:51	7:24
5	12.6	6:50	7:25
6	12.6	6:48	7:26
7	12.7	6:46	7:27
8	12.7	6:45	7:28
9	12.8	6:43	7:30
10	12.8	6:42	7:31
11	12.9	6:40	7:32
12	12.9	6:39	7:33
13	12.9	6:37	7:34
14	13.0	6:36	7:35
15	13.0	6:34	7:36
16	13.1	6:33	7:37
17	13.1	6:31	7:38
18	13.2	6:30	7:39
19	13.2	6:28	7:40
20	13.2	6:27	7:41
21	13.3	6:25	7:43
22	13.3	6:24	7:44
23	13.4	6:23	7:45
24	13.4	6:21	7:46
25	13.4	6:20	7:47
26	13.5	6:19	7:48
27	13.5	6:18	7:49
28	13.6	6:16	7:50
29	13.6	6:15	7:52
30	13.6	6:14	7:53
31	13.7	6:13	7:54

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 4.95 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 — October's 4.95 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)	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	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	5.6
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	4.3	Bright
2	4.4	Bright
3	4.4	Bright
4	4.5	Bright
5	4.5	Bright
6	4.5	Bright
7	4.5	Bright
8	4.6	Bright
9	4.6	Bright
10	4.7	Bright
11	4.7	Bright
12	4.8	Bright
13	4.8	Bright
14	4.8	Bright
15	4.9	Bright
16	4.9	Bright
17	5.0	Bright
18	5.0	Bright
19	5.1	Bright
20	5.1	Bright
21	5.2	Bright
22	5.2	Bright
23	5.3	Bright
24	5.3	Bright
25	5.3	Bright
26	5.4	Bright
27	5.4	Bright
28	5.5	Bright
29	5.5	Bright
30	5.5	Bright
31	5.6	Bright

Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Whanganui?

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

3.8

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Whanganui.

What to pack for Whanganui in October

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

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

rain geara warm layersun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Whanganui in October

The nearest coast averages about 14°C in October — 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 October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October 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

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

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	48	52
5	48	52
6	47	53
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	53	47

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	48	52
5	48	52
6	47	53
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	53	47

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	50	50
2	49	51
3	48	52
4	48	52
5	48	52
6	47	53
7	46	54
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	48	52
12	48	52
13	49	51
14	50	50
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	52	48
19	52	48
20	53	47
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	53	47
26	53	47
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	52	48
30	52	48
31	53	47

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

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	99	1
2	99	1
3	99	1
4	99	1
5	99	1
6	99	1
7	99	1
8	99	1
9	99	1
10	99	1
11	99	1
12	99	1
13	99	1
14	99	1
15	99	1
16	99	1
17	99	1
18	99	1
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	97	3
25	97	3
26	96	4
27	96	4
28	95	5
29	95	5
30	94	6
31	94	6