Sydney weather in September

September in Sydney: nice, a little rain, with clean air — one of the best months to visit.

Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis

Sydney🇦🇺 Australia · Australian East Coast · City89
  1. 82Jan
  2. 80Feb
  3. 76Mar
  4. 85Apr
  5. 83May
  6. 77Jun
  7. 78Jul
  8. 81Aug
  9. 89Sep
  10. 88Oct
  11. 87Nov
  12. 87Dec

#1 of 12 months in Sydney · #294 of 1413 destinations to visit in September · comfort 89/100 (tier A)

Days
20°C
Nights
13°C
Wet days
7
Sun
10 h
Humidity
66%
Daylight
12 h
Sydney, Australia
Photo: Yifan Lai · Pexels

What September is like in Sydney

Spring. The parks come out, the wind picks up and the ocean is at its coldest of the year.

shoulder

confidence: high

Traveller notes on Sydney in September

September is early spring in Sydney: cool-to-warm sunny days, low humidity, and sunshine reliable enough that it is the city's busy wedding month. The caveat regulars attach is that it is the first month of spring and notoriously unpredictable - summery or even hot one day, properly cold the next - so the packing is layered. Two September draws come with it: the jacarandas begin, with McDougall Street in Kirribilli the name everyone gives and the ferry to Woolwich the quieter alternative, and the whales are still passing, though one September report notes the wind on the boat was properly cold. The record: 20C days that feel like 19C, 13.2C nights, 6.6 precipitation days carrying 73.4mm and an 18.3C sea.
TheWeddingMonth · September · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Other months in Sydney

Regulars call this a genuine favourite, still warm without summer's oppressive humidity, with the second half of the month specifically named as one of the best weather stretches of the year here. Our row backs the pleasant read, 22.6C over 16.8C nights, with 114.4mm of rain across 8.3 days. Regulars on the Northern Beaches say the sea stays fine for swimming through this month and is often warmer than it runs in spring, right on the cusp before the water properly cools. Evenings do turn cool enough for a light jacket over a thin layer, a real contrast to the warm afternoons. The sea sits at 21.7C. The record: humidity 74 percent, 9.2 hours of sun, a 14.2 kph wind and AQI 45.
HumidityGoneStillWarmEnoughToSwim · April · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Regulars split this month at its own midpoint: early December can be genuinely beautiful and not that humid, while the run-up to Christmas turns hotter and more crowded as the holiday hype builds - humidity itself does not peak until January. Our row averages across both halves at 23.5C reading as 25C, with 86.6mm of rain across 9.6 days. Their sea estimate runs warmer than our column - they say 25C and above, we read 20.4C - which is the early-summer gap between a beach that has not fully warmed and a forecast built on the season's later weeks; either way a coastal breeze keeps the humidity milder than the air temperature alone suggests. The record: humidity 72 percent, 11.2 hours of sun, a 19.1 kph wind and AQI 49.
EarlyDecemberBeforeTheHumidityBuilds · December · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
The swimming season here opens on the first weekend of October and runs to the last of March, which makes this month the start rather than the middle - the water is about 17C by their reckoning and 19C by our column, swimmable if you are keen and cold if you are not. The weather is spring at its most variable: thirty degrees one day, barely twenty and raining the next, with fresh evenings either way. Our averages read 20.9C over 15.3C with 89.5mm across 8.5 days. The jacarandas begin mid-October and run to mid-November, with Kirribilli and the Woolwich ferry the streets people name. The record: humidity 69 percent, 10.2 hours of sun and AQI 45.
SwimSeasonOpensThisWeekend · October · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗
Sydney forum threads describe January as classic peak summer - typically sunny and hot, though posters were clear it can flip to overcast and humid with random bursts of rain, sometimes from the tail end of a tropical system further north. Temperatures were described as genuinely variable, with some days pushing toward 40C during a heat spell and others much milder and more comfortable, so no single 'typical' day captures the month. The other consistent theme: late January is the busiest stretch of the summer season here, since Australian school holidays run right up until the end of the month, meaning higher prices and accommodation booking up fast - posters recommended packing an umbrella despite the heat, since a sudden downpour is a real possibility even on an otherwise sunny day.
BondiRegular · January · 1 month ago · Read more on Tripadvisor ↗

Year-round notes are on Sydney's overview. Add your own note from Sydney's card on the map.

Sydney climate normals — September

Daytime high20°C / 68°F😎 nice
Nighttime low13°C / 56°F
Feels like (high)19°C / 66°F
Sea temperature18°C / 65°F🧊 bracing
Rainfall73 mm / 2.9 in🌦 some rain
Rainy days7 days
Humidity66%💧 humid
Dew point8°C / 46°F
Sunshine10 h/day
Daylight11.9 h
Wind18 km/h / 11 mph
Air quality (US AQI)45🍃 good

Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.

Crowds in Sydney in September

How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.

Busybetween the peaks, Spring break in Australia, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

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Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet

Best months for Sydney's weather

Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).

Fair weatherSydney's weather doesn't swing hard through the year — comfort stays fairly steady in every month.

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What's on in Sydney in September

Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.

  • Nature

    Humpback migration

    15 May – 15 Nov · usuallyWildlife season

    Twenty thousand humpbacks pass the headlands, north from May to July and back with calves from September. North Head and Cape Solander need no boat.

What's on around the world in September →

Nearby, and something's on

Within 300 km of Sydney — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.

Where is Sydney?

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Sydney in September — FAQ

Is September a good time to visit Sydney?
September in Sydney: nice, a little rain, with clean air — one of the best months to visit. It ranks #1 of 12 months for Sydney on SeasonMap's comfort score (89/100).
What is the weather like in Sydney in September?
In September, Sydney averages a daily high of 20°C and a low of 13.2°C, with about 73.4 mm of rain over roughly 6.6 rainy days.
What is the air quality in Sydney in September?
Sydney has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 45 in September.

Within 300 km: Katoomba's Waratahs and heath in flower around 15 Sep – 15 Nov, and Canberra's Floriade on 12 Sep – 11 Oct.