Climate

“Roaring Fourties”

New Zealand is lying within the “Roaring Fourties” latitude. This causes a continual wind blowing from west to east, between gentle to winter gales. Above the Tasman Sea the air becomes moisture laden; this moisture hits New Zealand.

Mountains as a Barrier

The mountains on the southern island cause an interesting rain pattern. The mountains act as a barrier for the moisture laden winds; most of the moisture will fall there. Annual rainfall on the west coast is exceeding 7500 mm. This in contradiction with the east where annually only 330 mm falls. The relatively dry wind in the east can be very hot in summer.

High volcanoes on the west side of the northern island also act as a barrier, but in a far lesser extend than on the southern; rainfall is more equally distributed on the northern island, averaging around 1300 mm per year.

Antarctic Winds

If New Zealand discovers a southern wind the weather will be cold. The explanation of that is logical: southern winds come from Antarctica.

Temperatures

The northern island is a couple of degrees in Celsius warmer than the southern. In summer (December, January and February) average is around 21 and in winter (June, July and August) average is around 13. Year around snow can be seen on the high mountains. In the winter the southern island (with in particular its southern part) can experience snow on sea level as well.

Regional Characteristics Within a Maritime Climate

On the whole New Zealand has a maritime climate and is exposed to quick weather changes, sometimes more within a day. New Zealand has of course some characteristic regional differences. The area above Auckland is even in winter quite warm and pleasant. On higher altitudes it is always colder. The winds blowing through the Cook Straight makes Wellington a windy city; "Windy Welly".

External Resources

For the latest weather forecasts you can visit this website: http://www.metservice.co.nz.

For information about climate change we refer to the following website: http://www.climatechange.govt.nz.