Queenstown weather
Loading live data…Latest for Queenstown: European (ECMWF): 12° Overcast · American (NOAA GFS): 11° Overcast · German (DWD ICON): 14° Overcast.
The weather map: all three models at once
European, American, German side by side around Queenstown and nearby towns.Live rain radar →Hourly forecast: next 14 hours
consensus of the three modelsRain in the next 24 hours, model by model
each model's own hourly precipitation, side by sideLoading the three models…
10-day forecast, out to 14 days
where the models agree, and where they splitHeading to Queenstown? Queenstown, New Zealand, sits at 45.0°S in a temperate climate zone. Before you lock in outdoor plans, compare how the three global models - European (ECMWF), American (GFS) and German (ICON) - forecast Queenstown right now. Where they agree you can trust it; the days they split are exactly when a single weather app is least reliable. For a ski trip, watch the temperature and where the models disagree on the freezing level.
Best time to visit Queenstown
The most comfortable time to visit Queenstown is usually January, February, March and November, when daytime highs sit in the pleasant 16-26°C range and the heaviest December rain is behind you.
Queenstown weather by month
what to expect in Queenstown through the year, 1991-2020 averagesHere is Queenstown's typical weather in each month: the average daytime high and overnight low in °C, how each month feels, and the wettest month marked. Use it to plan any trip to Queenstown by season.
Queenstown compared with Sydney
30-year averages: daytime highs month by month, rain and sunlightCooler through the year
average daytime high: Queenstown 14°C, Sydney 23°C
Rain over a year
Queenstown 856 mm, Sydney 1,148 mm
Sunlight vs a clear sky
solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day, averaged over the year (not sunshine hours)
On 30-year averages Queenstown runs 9°C cooler than Sydney, with every month between −12°C and −5°C. Over a year it gets 25% less rain than Sydney.
Month by month in numbers
| Month | Queenstown | Sydney | Difference | Sunlight, Queenstown | Sunlight, Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°C | 27°C | −5°C | 69% | 75% |
| February | 20°C | 28°C | −8°C | 71% | 73% |
| March | 17°C | 26°C | −9°C | 71% | 75% |
| April | 15°C | 24°C | −9°C | 70% | 77% |
| May | 11°C | 22°C | −11°C | 66% | 79% |
| June | 7°C | 18°C | −11°C | 66% | 74% |
| July | 7°C | 18°C | −11°C | 67% | 80% |
| August | 8°C | 20°C | −12°C | 69% | 82% |
| September | 11°C | 22°C | −11°C | 69% | 82% |
| October | 14°C | 24°C | −10°C | 69% | 77% |
| November | 17°C | 25°C | −8°C | 68% | 74% |
| December | 21°C | 27°C | −6°C | 67% | 74% |
Daytime highs and lows on this page are 1991-2020 averages. Queenstown: no weather station within 30 km at a similar height, so lows are ERA5 point values for 2023-2024, corrected month by month by NASA POWER's difference between those two years and 1991-2020, and highs are the uncorrected ERA5 values, which tested closer to station normals; rain is the CHELSA 1981-2010 climatology on a 1 km grid. Sydney: station normals from Sydney Observatory Hill (WMO), rain included. Sunlight vs a clear sky is NASA POWER's long-term average of the solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day; it compares cloudiness and is not a count of sunshine hours. Sydney stands in for Australia here; other cities have their own climate tables.