Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Adelaide Hills South Australia, Australia

In Adelaide Hills, the summers are dry and warm, the winters are windy and cold, and it is mostly clear year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 41°F to 82°F and is rarely below 33°F or above 97°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Adelaide Hills for warm-weather activities is from late December to early March.

The warm season lasts for 3.2 months, from December 6 to March 14, with an average daily high temperature above 77°F. The hottest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is January, with an average high of 81°F and low of 59°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 23 to September 7, with an average daily high temperature below 60°F. The coldest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is July, with an average low of 41°F and high of 55°F.

In Adelaide Hills, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Adelaide Hills begins around December 12 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around April 7.

The clearest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 7 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around December 12.

The cloudiest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% of the time.

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A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Adelaide Hills varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.8 months, from May 4 to September 29, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Adelaide Hills is July, with an average of 9.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.2 months, from September 29 to May 4. The month with the fewest wet days in Adelaide Hills is February, with an average of 1.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Adelaide Hills is July, with an average of 9.2 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 31% on July 2.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Adelaide Hills experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Adelaide Hills. The month with the most rain in Adelaide Hills is June, with an average rainfall of 2.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Adelaide Hills is January, with an average rainfall of 0.5 inches.

The length of the day in Adelaide Hills varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2026, the shortest day is June 21, with 9 hours, 48 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 22, with 14 hours, 31 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:49 AM on October 3, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 40 minutes later at 7:29 AM on April 4. The earliest sunset is at 5:10 PM on June 12, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 23 minutes later at 8:32 PM on January 6.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Adelaide Hills during 2026, starting in the spring on October 4 and ending in the fall on April 5.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2026. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Adelaide Hills, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 1% of 1% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Adelaide Hills experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from November 13 to March 16, with average wind speeds of more than 10.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.9 months, from March 16 to November 13. The calmest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is May, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Adelaide Hills varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 1.0 weeks, from May 2 to May 9; for 6.0 days, from June 29 to July 5; and for 3.1 months, from July 13 to October 17, with a peak percentage of 41% on August 10. The wind is most often from the north for 1.7 months, from May 9 to June 29 and for 1.1 weeks, from July 5 to July 13, with a peak percentage of 37% on July 12. The wind is most often from the south for 6.5 months, from October 17 to May 2, with a peak percentage of 52% on January 1.

Adelaide Hills is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.4 months, from December 24 to April 6, with an average temperature above 67°F. The month of the year in Adelaide Hills with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 70°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.4 months, from June 20 to October 2, with an average temperature below 58°F. The month of the year in Adelaide Hills with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 56°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Adelaide Hills throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Adelaide Hills for general outdoor tourist activities is from late December to early March, with a peak score in the last week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Adelaide Hills for hot-weather activities is from early January to late February, with a peak score in the last week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Adelaide Hills typically lasts for 11 months (320 days), from around July 31 to around June 16, rarely starting after September 2, or ending before May 15.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Adelaide Hills should appear around August 27, only rarely appearing before August 14 or after September 10.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from November 5 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is January, with an average of 8.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from May 1 to August 17, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.5 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Adelaide Hills is June, with an average of 2.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Adelaide Hills are -34.911 deg latitude, 138.707 deg longitude, and 1,398 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Adelaide Hills contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,470 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,056 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,385 feet). Within 50 miles also contains large variations in elevation (2,444 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Adelaide Hills is covered by trees (79%) and artificial surfaces (14%), within 10 miles by trees (46%) and artificial surfaces (30%), and within 50 miles by cropland (42%) and water (32%).