Can anyone summarise New Zealand's climate? (snow, averages, Chicago, season)

[Ed's Mountain]

Originally Posted by Ed's Mountain

Total difference doesn't matter so much as the gradient. If the Maui map is accurate there may actually be a gradient of 10000mm to 200mm or so over about 10km in west Maui. That's about 1000mm per km!

The New Zealand ones are pretty impressive too.

I should add that although the total difference doesn't matter so much the absolute value of the dry location does. Those places in Maui are deserts within spitting distance of rainforests; they are almost completely protected from rain by the shadow effect. OTOH, if the "dry" location still gets 1500mm of rain then the shadow effect isn't really that pronounced.

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by RWood

It's likely there is a small zone parallel to the divide with around 15000-16000mm, and from there to the base of Pukaki at about 600mm could be as little as 60km.

Yep, that is certainly impressive -I'm just trying to find a link to an article about new rain recorders being set up in the Alps.

Originally Posted by Ed's Mountain

Total difference doesn't matter so much as the gradient. If the Maui map is accurate there may actually be a gradient of 10000mm to 200mm or so over about 10km in west Maui. That's about 1000mm per km!

The New Zealand ones are pretty impressive too.

Yep, I guess gradient is ultimately the measure of rain shadow. One point about NZ, is that the rainfall of the drier areas is still prone to rainfall from other directions, so it might be difficult to get an accurate measure of the effect.

Not sure if this applies to Hawaii, or not.

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by Ed's Mountain

I should add that although the total difference doesn't matter so much the absolute value of the dry location does. Those places in Maui are deserts within spitting distance of rainforests; they are almost completely protected from rain by the shadow effect. OTOH, if the "dry" location still gets 1500mm of rain then the shadow effect isn't really that pronounced.

The driest area is about 60km SE of Glenorchy, with about 350mm of rain, although this total includes rain from other directions.

[Ed's Mountain]

Originally Posted by Joe90

Yep, that is certainly impressive -I'm just trying to find a link to an article about new rain recorders being set up in the Alps.



Yep, I guess gradient is ultimately the measure of rain shadow. One point about NZ, is that the rainfall of the drier areas is still prone to rainfall from other directions, so it might be difficult to get an accurate measure of the effect.

Not sure if this applies to Hawaii, or not.

See my other post. The strength of the shadow is a function of the prevailing wind. In Hawaii constant trade winds produce deserts on the leeward side; such places never escape the shadow. In New Zealand I guess the wind direction is less consistent, hence some days places are in the shadow whereas some days they're not.

[deneb78]

I am impressed that coastal NZ has such mild winter record lows. Wellington is at a higher latitude than NYC yet has a warmer record low than pretty much everywhere in the USA except the Florida Keys, Lowland Hawaii and the Tropical US territories. It is really impressive!

[RWood]

Originally Posted by deneb78

I am impressed that coastal NZ has such mild winter record lows. Wellington is at a higher latitude than NYC yet has a warmer record low than pretty much everywhere in the USA except the Florida Keys, Lowland Hawaii and the Tropical US territories. It is really impressive!

And those lows are very old. The city site at 126m ASL hasn't dropped to 0C since July 1965.

[susankate]

Originally Posted by gordo

Yes I'm like that to. I prefer cool, wet, rainy winters and sunny summers in the mid 20's with the occasional rainy day.

The Bay of Islands is warm in summer.

[Razza94]

NZ seems a great place, especially South Island, which I think was the main filming location for Lord of the Rings. Although I am surprised that North Island doesn't have any Mediterranean climates, I always assumed that it did. Still nice, none the less.

[Joe90]

Originally Posted by Razza94

NZ seems a great place, especially South Island, which I think was the main filming location for Lord of the Rings. Although I am surprised that North Island doesn't have any Mediterranean climates, I always assumed that it did. Still nice, none the less.

Subtropical lows are a feature that Mediterranean climates don't generally get, unlike NZ.

[jackierudetsky]

Climate map shows which countries have the same weather as Australia | Daily Mail Online

OK, so I know this isn't accurate at all, but how would a map for New Zealand be like, and how would a more accurate map for Australia be like?