Napier, the principal city of the Hawke's Bay region, sits on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, sheltered from the west by mountain ranges and moderated by the Pacific at approximately -39.49°S, 176.92°E. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) with a Mediterranean character — warm, dry and sunny — often called the country's best.

Summer, from December to February, is warm and dry, with January and February the warmest — average highs around 24–25°C, among the highest in New Zealand — with abundant sunshine and low rainfall. The sheltered eastern position keeps the westerly rain at bay, and the warm, dry summers ripen the vineyards for which Hawke's Bay is celebrated.

Winter, from June to August, is mild, with July the coolest month — average highs around 13–14°C and nights near 4–5°C, with occasional frost inland. Snow is essentially unknown at sea level. Rain is more frequent than in summer, but the season stays comparatively bright and mild by New Zealand standards.

Napier is dry for New Zealand, receiving only around 800 mm of rain a year, spread with a slight winter maximum, since the mountain ranges to the west shelter it from the prevailing rain-bearing westerlies. Drought is a periodic risk for Hawke's Bay farmers. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Napier's sheltered eastern position, backed by mountains and warmed by the Pacific, gives it warm, dry, sunny weather often judged the finest in New Zealand — the foundation of the Hawke's Bay wine and orchard country. Its exposure to the east, however, leaves it vulnerable to occasional ex-tropical cyclones, as when Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the region in 2023.

To follow any single measurement in Napier more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.