The climate of Dunedin in general is temperate, however the city is recognised as having a large number of microclimates and the weather conditions often vary between suburbs mostly due to the city's topographical layout. It is also greatly modified by its proximity to the ocean. This leads to warm summers and relatively mild winters. Winter can occasionally be frosty but sunny, and significant snowfall is uncommon (perhaps every two or three years), except in the inland hill suburbs such as Halfway Bush and Wakari, which tend to receive a few days of snowfall each year. Spring can feature "four seasons in a day" weather, but from November to April it is generally settled and mild. Temperatures during summer can reach over 30 �C (86 �F)
Dunedin has relatively low rainfall in comparison to many of New Zealand's cities, with only some 750 millimetres (30 in) recorded per year. Despite this fact it is sometimes misguidedly regarded as a damp city, probably due to its rainfall occurring in drizzle or light rain (heavy rain is relatively rare). Dunedin is one of the cloudiest major centres in the country, recording approximately 1650 hours of bright sunshine per annum Prevailing wind in the city is mainly a sometimes cool southwesterly and during late spring will alternate with northeasterlies. Warmer, dry northwest winds are also characteristic Foehn winds from the northwest. The circle of hills surrounding the inner cityshelters the inner city from much of the prevailing weather, while hills just to the west of the city can often push inclement weather around to the west of the city.
Inland, beyond the heart of the city and into Inland Otago the climate is sub-continental: winters are quite cold and dry, summers hot and dry. Thick freezing ground fogs are common in winter in the upper reaches of the Taieri River's course around Middlemarch, and in summer the temperature sometimes reaches into the mid-30s Celsius
