Aoraki / Mount Cook Weather Forecast
Aoraki / Mount Cook weather: 11°F, light showers. Hourly forecast, 14-day outlook, UV, air quality and the best time to visit.
Summary
Aoraki / Mount Cook is a mountain in Canterbury. Aoraki / Mount Cook is a mountain known as New Zealand's highest mountain. It sits at 12.218 ft above sea level.
Right now it is 11°F (-12°C) in Aoraki / Mount Cook with light showers. It feels like 3°F. Today runs from 10°F to 12°F. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Sightseeing conditions score 2.3/10 - poor - consider another day.
The best time to visit Aoraki / Mount Cook is January, February and August. The climate is polar. May, June and July tend to be the least comfortable months. January is the warmest month with average highs near 27°F, while August is the coldest with lows near -1°F.
The closest major airport is Queenstown Airport (ZQN), about 120 mi away. Nearby highlights include South Island, Lake Wakatipu, Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand and Milford Sound.
In plain terms. Today is slightly warmer than average for August. The forecast high of 12°F is 3.8°F above the 8°F typical for this month. Visibility is down to 0,1 mi - use low beams and leave extra following distance. Gusts to 59 mph will push high-sided vehicles on exposed roads and bridges. Overnight lows near 10°F mean ice is possible on bridges before dawn. Wet roads are likely; braking distances roughly double in heavy rain.
Compiled from this page's own data: atlas facts plus live Open-Meteo readings.
Active alerts for Aoraki / Mount Cook
Derived from the forecast. No official alert feed is wired for this country yet.
Weather in Aoraki / Mount Cook right now
Source: Open-Meteo. Updated 5:51 PM, Aug 25 local time.
Next 24 hours
Hour-by-hour temperature, precipitation chance and wind.
16-day forecast for Aoraki / Mount Cook
Daily highs and lows, precipitation and UV.
| Day | Conditions | High / Low | Precip | Wind | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue, Aug 25 | ❄️ Heavy snow showers | 12° / 10° | 100% · 1,9 in | 8 mph | 1 |
| Wed, Aug 26 | ❄️ Heavy snow showers | 13° / 9° | 100% · 5,0 in | 6 mph | 1 |
| Thu, Aug 27 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 12° / 7° | 100% · 5,8 in | 7 mph | 1 |
| Fri, Aug 28 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 12° / 6° | 100% · 2,9 in | 6 mph | 1 |
| Sat, Aug 29 | 🌨️ Light snow | 9° / 1° | 65% · 0,0 in | 3 mph | 6 |
| Sun, Aug 30 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 8° / -6° | 75% · 1,2 in | 7 mph | 4 |
| Mon, Aug 31 | 🌨️ Snow | 11° / -5° | 20% · 0,1 in | 4 mph | 4 |
| Tue, Sep 1 | 🌨️ Light snow showers | 11° / 4° | 80% · 0,8 in | 9 mph | 4 |
| Wed, Sep 2 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 11° / -0° | 90% · 2,2 in | 13 mph | 5 |
| Thu, Sep 3 | 🌨️ Light snow | 5° / -5° | 65% · 0,0 in | 6 mph | 6 |
| Fri, Sep 4 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 9° / 2° | 66% · 3,3 in | 8 mph | 1 |
| Sat, Sep 5 | ❄️ Heavy snow showers | 8° / 2° | 55% · 1,6 in | 7 mph | 1 |
| Sun, Sep 6 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 11° / 8° | 61% · 4,7 in | 9 mph | 2 |
| Mon, Sep 7 | ⛈️ Thunderstorm | 10° / -2° | 61% · 3,4 in | 9 mph | 2 |
| Tue, Sep 8 | 🌨️ Light snow showers | 1° / -4° | 47% · 0,0 in | 9 mph | 2 |
| Wed, Sep 9 | 🌨️ Snow | 6° / -4° | 55% · 0,1 in | 14 mph | 6 |
Climate in Aoraki / Mount Cook month by month
Average high, average low and total rainfall, based on three years of reanalysis data.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rainfall | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 15° | 16,3 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| February | 27° | 15° | 8,5 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| March | 24° | 13° | 10,4 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| April | 20° | 10° | 17,8 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| May | 15° | 5° | 12,9 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| June | 10° | 1° | 16,3 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| July | 9° | 0° | 13,4 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| August | 8° | -1° | 8,2 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| September | 10° | 1° | 29,6 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| October | 12° | 4° | 26,2 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| November | 16° | 7° | 15,6 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
| December | 22° | 11° | 17,4 in | ★☆☆☆☆ |
Climate type: Polar. Source: Open-Meteo archive (ERA5).
Weather map for Aoraki / Mount Cook
Animated model layers. Pick a layer to load it.
Animated layers by Windy. For pin-level detail and nearby places, see the interactive map below.
Air quality and pollen in Aoraki / Mount Cook
Air quality: Open-Meteo (CAMS). US AQI scale.
Sun, twilight and moon
Golden and blue hour are the standard photographic approximation around sunrise and sunset.
Best time to visit Aoraki / Mount Cook
Go in January, February and August. These months score highest on comfortable temperatures, low rainfall and useful daylight.
Hardest months: May, June and July - expect the least comfortable mix of heat, cold or rain.
Explore Aoraki / Mount Cook
Every topic we hold for this place, and the same topic for the places around it.
Weather for related places
Frequently asked questions
Where is Aoraki / Mount Cook?
Aoraki / Mount Cook is a mountain in Canterbury. Its coordinates are -43.595, 170.1418. It lies in Oceania.
What is the weather like in Aoraki / Mount Cook right now?
It is currently 11°F (-12°C) with light showers. Humidity is 96% and wind is 5 mph.
When is the best time to visit Aoraki / Mount Cook?
January, February and August offer the most comfortable conditions in Aoraki / Mount Cook, which has a polar climate. May, June and July are usually the hardest months for outdoor plans.
What time zone is Aoraki / Mount Cook in?
Aoraki / Mount Cook observes Pacific/Auckland (UTC+12:00). The local time is 5:51 PM.
What is the nearest airport to Aoraki / Mount Cook?
The closest airports are Queenstown Airport (ZQN), 120 mi away.
What are the top things to do in Aoraki / Mount Cook?
Popular options include South Island, Lake Wakatipu, Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand, Milford Sound and Fiordland National Park.
Related articles
Data sources and methodology
| Place data | USPOTUS Atlas dataset (mountains) - coordinates, hierarchy and facts. |
|---|---|
| Forecast and observations | Open-Meteo (ECMWF and national models). |
| Air quality and pollen | Copernicus CAMS via Open-Meteo. US AQI scale. |
| Climate averages | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, aggregated over 3 years. |
| Method | Scores, comparisons and advice on this page are computed from the inputs above. Distances are straight-line. Nothing is estimated where data is missing - the block is simply not shown. |
Last updated August 25, 2026 at 5:51 PM local time. Live blocks refresh every 15 minutes; climate averages monthly.
