Snow but no snow (snowing, recorded, precipitation, city)

[nei]

Originally Posted by Stoney63

Of particular interest to me is our west coast region, where snow on the coast is rare but is only 25 km from what is possibly the highest ( I'm not certain about this though) annual snowfall on the planet.

I think the Cascades in Washington State (USA) have the highest, but I don't know much about New Zealand. Do you have any numbers?

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by nei

I think the Cascades in Washington State (USA) have the highest, but I don't know much about New Zealand. Do you have any numbers?

I also read the Cascades, but I wouldn't rule NZ as a possibility, since it doesn't really have any stations high up enough to compare. Both these regions can get in excess of 4000mm of precipitation a year.

[Stoney63]

Originally Posted by nei

I think the Cascades in Washington State (USA) have the highest, but I don't know much about New Zealand. Do you have any numbers?

Not for snowfall, NZ has few sites for recording snow, mostly ski areas which tend to be on the drier side of the country. The wettest sea level annual rainfall is about 7.5 m and the wettest site at elevation (I think about 1000 m ) has around 12 m. both of these sites have adjoining alpine zones, so high snowfall totals could be expected. I don''t know if there would be a direct rain to snow conversion at a 1 to 10 ratio, it might not be that simple. Alaska seems like another place where high totals could be expected. The Cascade totals are very impressive, particularly given the relatively modest altitude the record was set at, I don't think it's likely NZ could compare at the same height (5500 ft/1700 m), go up another 1000 m and it may be a different story.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Stoney63

Snow to sea level on the east coast of the South Island isn't too unusual. the west coast and where I live is different though. If it snowed here once a year or even once in 10 I would say, yes, it snows here, once in 35 years makes it more of a freak event. I may appear picky but my criteria is by the standard of where I live. That is that, snow can settle 20 times or more (in a heavy winter) only 6 km from our house, the falls can be heavy( up to a metre) only 12 km away,and snow is visible 7-9 months ( occasionally all year) only 25 km away. The morning after a big fall provides stunning views as the region has ranges on 3 sides, yet , I 've noticed that most people don,t usually comment about snow unless prompted as this is such a common event , snow as low as 100 m( maybe 1 in ten years)gets people talking. I don't have the benefit of google earth, which makes my search harder but even so, I don't think I've found a match, lots of places are close but, have snow too often, are too dry to get what is normal here or the mountains are just too far away.Of particular interest to me is our west coast region, where snow on the coast is rare but is only 25 km from what is possibly the highest ( I'm not certain about this though) annual snowfall on the planet.

I thought even in Nelson snow was more like a 1 in 10 year event, but you'd know better than me.

Some places in the South Island are surprisingly unsnowy, like Kaikoura on the east coast (I remember some news report about the first time there was snow lying on the beach there in 25 years or something). It's extremely minimum of like -0.6C is hardly believable too. Also surprising Hokitika on the west coast has reported a lower extreme minimum than Dunedin or Timaru.

Check out parts of Central Chile. Some of the peaks almost touch the ocean while the coast itself is practically snowless.

[Stoney63]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

I thought even in Nelson snow was more like a 1 in 10 year event, but you'd know better than me.

Some places in the South Island are surprisingly unsnowy, like Kaikoura on the east coast (I remember some news report about the first time there was snow lying on the beach there in 25 years or something). It's extremely minimum of like -0.6C is hardly believable too. Also surprising Hokitika on the west coast has reported a lower extreme minimum than Dunedin or Timaru.

Check out parts of Central Chile. Some of the peaks almost touch the ocean while the coast itself is practically snowless.

The weather in Kaikoura often seems to be contrary, it was 24 at midnight 2 nights ago, often it has the highest max in winter and the coldest in summer, I think downslope winds are a big factor there. Hokitika and much of the west coast often get cold air descending down the river valleys, even so, I'm surprised it has a colder record low than east coast locations. There isn't much of a variation (in record lows) over the South Island although the west coast is not as frosty on the coast itself. Central Chiles' mountains appear to be 50 to 100 km from the ocean which would mean a typical South Island backdrop, further south ( in Chile) the mountains are closer but the coast is snowier.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Stoney63

The weather in Kaikoura often seems to be contrary, it was 24 at midnight 2 nights ago, often it has the highest max in winter and the coldest in summer, I think downslope winds are a big factor there. Hokitika and much of the west coast often get cold air descending down the river valleys, even so, I'm surprised it has a colder record low than east coast locations. There isn't much of a variation (in record lows) over the South Island although the west coast is not as frosty on the coast itself. Central Chiles' mountains appear to be 50 to 100 km from the ocean which would mean a typical South Island backdrop, further south ( in Chile) the mountains are closer but the coast is snowier.

Yeah doesn't make that much sense, does it. The West coast is much better (Hokitika getting 2000-3000 mm a year) so yes is less frost-prone. It seems when it gets very cold it's also prone though.

Actually I saw some peaks over 2,000 m less than 20 km from the coast in Central and Northern Chile, but splitting hairs for argument's sake, lol. I think we can agree both of these regions would have whatever you are looking for.

[Stoney63]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Yeah doesn't make that much sense, does it. The West coast is much better (Hokitika getting 2000-3000 mm a year) so yes is less frost-prone. It seems when it gets very cold it's also prone though.

Actually I saw some peaks over 2,000 m less than 20 km from the coast in Central and Northern Chile, but splitting hairs for argument's sake, lol. I think we can agree both of these regions would have whatever you are looking for.

Any latitude numbers, or names of towns? I'm trying to isolate specific locations and northern Chile seems as though it might be too dry to give the feeling of living in a snowy place.

[deneb78]

I still think the big island of Hawaii could be a contender with Mauna Kea or Mauna Loa although I don't know if the summits are visible from the coast. I haven't been there so I can't comment. They may be shrouded in cloud much of the time but certainly the highest parts would have snow.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Stoney63

Any latitude numbers, or names of towns? I'm trying to isolate specific locations and northern Chile seems as though it might be too dry to give the feeling of living in a snowy place.

Yes the Atacama extends some way south, but looking at the map the peaks seemed to basically touch the coast at several points along the coast right down. Have a look at a relief map of Chile (a detailed one). There are places on the coast not far from Santiago which would fit the bill.

[Ethereal]

Mount Wellington in Hobart