# Weather in NZ



## MrsRose

What kinds of weather are common in the North Island of NZ? 
Not the average temperatures or how much rainfall you get...but things like: Are windy days more often than not? Do you guys ever get spectacular lightening and thunderstorms?
When it rains, does it most often just drizzle, or do you get torrential downpours now and then (or often)? Does it ever get really hot? (and by hot I mean anything comparable to the 115 degrees F we're experiencing daily this week.)

Just curious.


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## topcat83

MrsRose said:


> What kinds of weather are common in the North Island of NZ?
> Not the average temperatures or how much rainfall you get...but things like: Are windy days more often than not? Do you guys ever get spectacular lightening and thunderstorms?
> When it rains, does it most often just drizzle, or do you get torrential downpours now and then (or often)? Does it ever get really hot? (and by hot I mean anything comparable to the 115 degrees F we're experiencing daily this week.)
> 
> Just curious.


It really depends where you are. In the Far North it is more tropical, in the centre of the island (Taupo, King Country, Ruapehu) it's more continental with cold winters and hot summers. Wellington can be very windy, but elsewhere there will be less. Spring tends to be unsettled.

Look at New Zealand Weather Forecasts by city and region ? MetService.com - it will give you some ideas of the differences.

This last summer and winter have been exceptionally wet  - the worse we've had since we've been here.

I will be very glad to see some more sun and see our quagmire of a back paddock dry out a bit. The alpacas are Not Happy :llama:


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## escapedtonz

Hey I've recently completed a workshop on NZ weather during training for my new job. It covered the climate of both Islands and the reasons why NZ gets the weather it does. Have all my notes at work & as soon as I get chance I'll have a look through and let you know the info.

All I remember off the top of my head for the North Island.......
Northland is sub-tropical due to its proximity to the old Polynesia with a generally mild temperate climate. Not cold in winter and not too hot in summer - ie no extremes but it does rain lots.
As you move East past Auckland towards Hamilton this area is renowned for fog due to its low lying topology. Also renowned for frosts since it is so open with generally little cloud.
There is also a risk of strong tropical storms affecting Northland down to the Bay Of Plenty and lightening storms are common along the top of the NI from Northland all the way across to the Eastern coast and out to sea.
Wherever there are mountains rain wont be far away as clouds must dump their moisture content to rise above mountains so you can expect lots of rain on the Western side of all mountain ranges in NZ and clear on the Eastern side. This is generally due to all weather fronts coming to NZ from the West - ie from OZ.
You will find statistics state the West of NZ is the wettest and the East the driest and sunniest.
Can be windy in central NI around Palmy - lots of wind farms out there.
Also Wellington renowned for being windy but I must admit not really experienced any bad wind storms here yet. There is always some sort of breeze here.
Wind direction also plays a big part in the ambient temperature. Wind from the North tropics brings mild temperatures with it as its blowing from the equator.
Any from the South brrrrrr makes it cold as they blow and are influenced by Antarctica.
Napier is very high on the list of sunniest and driest places in NZ.
Mt Taranaki at New Plymouth and Mt Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park offer skiing when the weather warm enough for a t shirt at sea level not so far away.
No real major extremes of anything here in NZ - especially in the NI.
If there's anything I've forgotten I'll repost


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## kiwiemma

That's actually a really good summary. To the original poster, bear in mind that NZ is a long skinny country with a hugely varied topography. You can't generalize about the weather in the North Island, or the South Island, even within one city four seasons in one day is very common. Having said that, it's not a country that has major extremes, never blistering hot, never unbearably cold. But Wellington is windy as hell, every day of the year.


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## MrsRose

Oh I'm not attempting to generalize. I'm just curious what types of weather are commonly (or uncommonly) experienced in any region of the North Island. 
Here in the desert we often experience extremes. Extreme dry heat, or extreme dry cold. But when it does rain, it rains hard for a few minutes to a few hours only...often causing flash floods in some areas. I really enjoy listening to and watching thunder/lightening storms, so I was wondering if NZ ever has any. Also, I've never been in a hurricane (typhoon) so I'm curious about those. Do those occur often in the North Island around Auckland or Bay of Plenty area? And do they typically cause significant damage or are they something most are used to and prepared for? 

Again...just curious.


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## bdl123

> But Wellington is windy as hell, every day of the year.



I've been in Wellington for the past 6mths and can count on one, maybe both hands the extremely windy days & I was expecting the worst 

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## kiwiemma

bdl123 said:


> [ But Wellington is windy as hell, every day of the year.


I've been in Wellington for the past 6mths and can count on one, maybe both hands the extremely windy days & I was expecting the worst 

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum[/QUOTE]

Oh no, you've been turned! Everyone, well everyone I've ever met, who moves to Wellington says, after a few months, that it's really not as windy as it is reputed to me. I think you just get used to it I lived there for 12 years and it was the weather that eventually led to me leaving. I just couldn't bear it anymore. It does wear you down, it might not blow a gale every day but there is almost never a still day, and if you love warmth and being outdoors, preferably at the same time, well, there are places in NZ you will be happier to live in. 

But, aside from the weather I love Wellington and I always smile when people defend the weather there, it kind of proves what a great city it's is that people don't really notice that the rain is usually horizontal.


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## Song_Si

^ I lasted one week short of ten years in Wellington - and do not miss the wind one bit - though living most of that time on the south coast Island Bay then Owhiro Bay I was asking for trouble

A work colleague used to explain her sometimes grumpy disposition as being 

_*anemomania*_ - wind madness. In her case, brought about by living in Lyall Bay.

I just looked it up - appears may not even be a real word! I was fooled on this one, a variation on anemometer the wind strength gauge. But still quite believable, sure I suffered from it trying to garden, cycle, run, or just open a window sometimes

A couple of earlier threads on the topic - containing some of my observations, and some factual data too!

How wet and windy is Wellington and Windy Wellington

cant resist:

*"You can't beat Wellington on a good day"*


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## epicgb

I lived in Auckland for a year, its never cold, maybe 15 degrees coldest in the winter. However it rains ALOT in the winter, im talking torrential for 2/3 days solid! Nice hot summers though but you also have that nice breeze coming from the sea


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## escapedtonz

MrsRose said:


> Oh I'm not attempting to generalize. I'm just curious what types of weather are commonly (or uncommonly) experienced in any region of the North Island.
> Here in the desert we often experience extremes. Extreme dry heat, or extreme dry cold. But when it does rain, it rains hard for a few minutes to a few hours only...often causing flash floods in some areas. I really enjoy listening to and watching thunder/lightening storms, so I was wondering if NZ ever has any. Also, I've never been in a hurricane (typhoon) so I'm curious about those. Do those occur often in the North Island around Auckland or Bay of Plenty area? And do they typically cause significant damage or are they something most are used to and prepared for?
> 
> Again...just curious.


Hi again,
Just reading thru my workshop literature on NZ weather and I was pretty much bang on.....wow that means there's a chance I'm learning something in this new job eh!!!
The only extremes experienced for the NI seem to relate to Wellington and it's west coast up the Kapiti and that this area likely to suffer very high wind spells. There is also the phenomenon of weather bombs in Wellington which are intense low pressure systems causing heavy amounts of rain, flash flooding, hurricane force winds & high tides and in a really small space of time. Last one was 3rd March apparently. We arrived on the 9th - phew!!!
The cyclones I mentioned can occur depending on the predicted atmospheric conditions for the year - ie La Nina as opposed to El Niño. 
They would occur Oct - April and are of the decaying type as they would originate from the tropics - Philippines for instance with the winds bringing them South but are all but petering out by the time they hit NZ.
Areas at risk are Northland, Coromandel, Bay Of Plenty. They are always very well predicted and not likely to last over 2 days so do not generally cause much damage or drama.


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## topcat83

escapedtonz said:


> ....
> Areas at risk are ... Coromandel.... They are always very well predicted and not likely to last over 2 days so do not generally cause much damage or drama.


Can vouch for this one. We've had the wettest summer and winter for years, according to the local farmer, and he's been taking his weather recordings every day for quite a few decades. 

But one of the troubles with hills is that the national weather forecast can't show the variations caused by the hilly terrian. In Coromandel it can be gorgeous sunshine on one side of the peninsula and a torrent of rain on the other. We live just over the Firth of Thames in Miranda, looking directly over Thames on the far bank. It can be lovely at ours and raining at Thames, or vice-versa. 

The Bombay Hills are another weather boundary. It can be very foggy or raining the Waikato Plains side, then you drive up the hill into gorgeous sunshine. I think it's one of the things that would put me off living in Pokeno, which is otherwise a lovely little (but growing) town that is very commutable to Auckland (it would knock half an hour off my journey).


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## bdl123

kiwiemma said:


> I've been in Wellington for the past 6mths and can count on one, maybe both hands the extremely windy days & I was expecting the worst
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


Oh no, you've been turned! Everyone, well everyone I've ever met, who moves to Wellington says, after a few months, that it's really not as windy as it is reputed to me. I think you just get used to it I lived there for 12 years and it was the weather that eventually led to me leaving. I just couldn't bear it anymore. It does wear you down, it might not blow a gale every day but there is almost never a still day, and if you love warmth and being outdoors, preferably at the same time, well, there are places in NZ you will be happier to live in.

But, aside from the weather I love Wellington and I always smile when people defend the weather there, it kind of proves what a great city it's is that people don't really notice that the rain is usually horizontal.[/QUOTE]

Haha...sorry I still disagree. Only been here 6mths from the UK and so far I'm very impressed with the weather. More often than not been out in just cardy's for last few weeks, mid winter...u'd struggle to be able to do that in summer in the UK. Rain is bad, I agree, but the worst seems to happen overnight for some reason...suppose there's time for things to change ;-)

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## kiwiemma

Ahh, it all becomes clear, you are from the UK . Yes, our weather would seem quite acceptable, in that case!


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## bdl123

kiwiemma said:


> Ahh, it all becomes clear, you are from the UK . Yes, our weather would seem quite acceptable, in that case!


😄

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## Lester

It is all relative to your own reference points, I have spent several winters in Auckland and this one has to be the least cold or wet that I have experienced. There have been quite a lot of warm sunny days and fine weekends. One year I remember it was like St Swithins and rained every day for 40 or more days without fail and last year we had snow flurries


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## Song_Si

the wellington 'tough' attitude; spoke to friend in Wellington yesterday, asked about the weather
_'not bad'_
but according to the Met Office site the Wellington suburb of Kelburn was the windiest site in NZ yesterday - 85km/h.

all a matter of degrees - this next one Gales, heavy rain forecast for Wellington and Severe Weather Watch from today's news will be 

*'a bit of a breeze'*
____

my niece/her husband are dairy farmers in Bell Block just north of New Plymouth, Taranaki. Apart from a recent tornado, they've had a dreadful winter for farmers, storms, lost electricity and had to dump milk, too much rain. the life of a farmer. In February they may be buying in water again due to drought.


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## inhamilton

It's impossible to sum up NZ weather in a nutshell. Northland is officially sub-tropical (ie Kiwi's call it the winterless north), whereas Invercargill is almost sub-antarctic when there's a southerly blowing (although it's still closer to the equator than London), and then there's everything in between.


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## Addicted to NZ

I can give you this Canadians perspective of weather in NZ at the 36.0 S parallel (North Island).

A New Zealand winter (up here in Dargaville area) - rainy days feel like a cool to mild fall day or cool to coldish rainy spring day. When you get the sunny winter day...they feel like a really nice late spring day bordering a cool summer day in Canada.

As someone that has experienced the harsh long cold Canadian winter 43 times, with temps that can get as cold at -25C to -50C back home, I find it tough calling winter here ....winter.

I have a weather station/page with only a yrs worth of data, but if want to look at the data - Here is the link Dargaville Weather, New Zealand (Mahuta Rd) - Home


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## jawnbc

Thanks from a fellow Canuck mere days from arriving in Auckland!



Addicted to NZ said:


> I can give you this Canadians perspective of weather in NZ at the 36.0 S parallel (North Island).
> 
> A New Zealand winter (up here in Dargaville area) - rainy days feel like a cool to mild fall day or cool to coldish rainy spring day. When you get the sunny winter day...they feel like a really nice late spring day bordering a cool summer day in Canada.
> 
> As someone that has experienced the harsh long cold Canadian winter 43 times, with temps that can get as cold at -25C to -50C back home, I find it tough calling winter here ....winter.
> 
> I have a weather station/page with only a yrs worth of data, but if want to look at the data - Here is the link Dargaville Weather, New Zealand (Mahuta Rd) - Home


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## Addicted to NZ

jawnbc said:


> Thanks from a fellow Canuck mere days from arriving in Auckland!


Cool!

I should mention we live in a well insulated house with double glazed windows and a nice wood stove. If no one has mentioned it to you yet ----- Try your best to get a well insulated place where ever you end up in NZ. Or you will most likely find it pretty chilly to freaking cold in the house on those rainy winter days.

Best of luck jawnbc!


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## escapedtonz

kiwiemma said:


> Ahh, it all becomes clear, you are from the UK . Yes, our weather would seem quite acceptable, in that case!


....ok... Agreed, today has been bloody windy 😣

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