Climate · Wānaka

Wānaka in January

Mild and wet, as the days shorten.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

January in Wānaka is mild: highs near 68°F, lows near 49°F. Rain falls on about three days a week, less often as the month goes on, and the days shorten by 35 minutes from the first week to the last.January in Wānaka is mild: highs near 20°C, lows near 9°C. Rain falls on about three days a week, less often as the month goes on, and the days shorten by 35 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
68°F20°Caverage
Low
49°F9°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 45% of days
Daylight
15h 08mon average

Is January a good time to visit Wānaka?


Yes. January is one of Wānaka's best months (January to February).

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How January sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 68°F in January, against 40°F to 69°F through the year.Highs near 20°C in January, against 4°C to 21°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

45% of days in January, against 37% to 54% through the year.

Cloud cover

53% cover in January, against 50% to 62% through the year.

Daylight

15h 08m in January, against 8h 52m to 15h 31m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with January shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side


  1. December66°19°low 47°low 8°4 wet days a weekRain on about four days a week.
  2. January68°20°low 49°low 9°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. February69°21°low 50°low 10°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Wānaka sits, in January

Pacific/Auckland

this place
typical high in January 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-January
6:16 AMsets 9:28 PM
Above the sea
520 mlow-lying
Latitude
44.7°Ssouthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Queenstown53 km south-west

The land around Wānaka, shaded by its typical high in January, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in New Zealand in January

high · low · wet days

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Wānaka. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (520 m) against the climate model's (671 m).Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match, and both highs and lows are adjusted for the town's height (520 m) against the climate model's (671 m). Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.