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My grandparents' home town again - I like how popular it is on weather forums.
Two things I'd really like to know about Alexandra are:
How much sun does it get? ( And how well-distributed it is. )
How windy is it?
The warmer half of the year is pretty decent in both places, but how the colder half of the year plays out is more important to me for comfort. The bad thing about Osoyoos winters is how oppressively cloudy they are ( cloudier than coastal places like Vancouver ), but the good side is the very light wind levels mean that the temperatures don't feel all that severe. If Alexandra is sunnier in winter but not windy it might be the winner for me, otherwise, my vote goes for Osoyoos.
Rwood, we need your extensive knowledge of NZ weather!
As for why there aren't more people there, retirement there is popular, and in that sense it's booming, but economically speaking there is essentially just a fruit industry in decline, a wine industry, and a tourist industry. There really isn't much else to do in the Okanagan region, and it's comparatively more cut-off from the rest of Canada than Phoenix ( snowed-up passes being common in winter, no rail connections anymore ) is from the rest of the US.
Speaking of Osoyoos, it is in the Okanagan valley, where they grow wine, right ? has the whole valley the same privileged climate (for Canada), or is it only the town of Osyoos?
Osoyoos is the driest, has the mildest winters and hottest summers, but the climate is very similar further north, in places like Penticton:
As you go further east, up, or north things tend to get colder, wetter, and more continental, but summers are reasonably similar throughout the interior valleys:
My grandparents' home town again - I like how popular it is on weather forums.
Two things I'd really like to know about Alexandra are:
How much sun does it get? ( And how well-distributed it is. )
How windy is it?
The warmer half of the year is pretty decent in both places, but how the colder half of the year plays out is more important to me for comfort. The bad thing about Osoyoos winters is how oppressively cloudy they are ( cloudier than coastal places like Vancouver ), but the good side is the very light wind levels mean that the temperatures don't feel all that severe. If Alexandra is sunnier in winter but not windy it might be the winner for me, otherwise, my vote goes for Osoyoos.
Rwood, we need your extensive knowledge of NZ weather!
As for why there aren't more people there, retirement there is popular, and in that sense it's booming, but economically speaking there is essentially just a fruit industry in decline, a wine industry, and a tourist industry. There really isn't much else to do in the Okanagan region, and it's comparatively more cut-off from the rest of Canada than Phoenix ( snowed-up passes being common in winter, no rail connections anymore ) is from the rest of the US.
Alexandra has about 52% of possible sunshine longterm, above the NZ average. But the basin it lies in means that only amounts to about 2060 hours - as I mentioned earlier, hill suburbs on its southern side are probably at least 100 hours sunnier due to extra daylight. There is a drop in June-July due to basin fogs.
Wind speeds are very low in autumn and winter, generally light and occasionally moderate the rest of the year, highest in late spring (the Clyde site a few kms away averages only about 8kph in the windiest month, November).
Rain days with 1.0mm or more average 65 per year. Cromwell to the west is a little wetter, gets at least 2250 hours sunshine annually.
Hours monthly at Alexandra:
231 205 194 155 120 93 102 147 171 204 215 227 (2063) all records 1930-2010
Interesting! Cromwell looks a lot like some parts of the Okanagan, if you exchange grey rock for brown.
However, given the sunshine statistics, I'll go with Alexandra. Penticton ( very similar sunshine to Osoyoos ) gets just 36 hours of sun in its dark months, and it's oppressive. I'd prefer warmer summers than Alexandra gets, but overall it has more to offer me in year-round living.
I agree, a great climate - Osoyoos.
Alexandra isn't bad either, especially considering how tragic places like Invercargill are.
Marginal choice here, but Osoyoos gets the nod.
I wouldn't call Invercargill's climate tragic - and I'm no spruiker for it, unlike some. You couldn't expect it to be any better than it is given its location.
Actually it seems the stats listed on Wikipedia for Osoyoos seem to be a bit off.. the official stats from Environment Canada show about 1-2C cooler most months.
that canadian climate is pretty amazing...if i played by my own rules id choose the more livable NZ climate, but its summer temps look too close to the UKs (ie unreliable) so am going with Canada.
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