Wellington Weather

[RoadRunner]

Someone asked me to report back on the water temperature in Wellington given that it is summer there so I thought I'd post overall comments on the weather - perhaps others who have lived there longer can add in their thoughts.

I'll start by saying that it all depends on your perspective. I currently live in the desert so it is about 60-70 degress in the winter and about 110 for at least 3 solid months in the summer. The day I left here, it was 70 and when I arrived in Wellington (my winter, their summer) it was 70. It will be pretty tough for me to adjust in the winter, I think! (Must get newer house with central heating and double glazing!) But I did notice that the sun is much more intense than in most parts of the US (it's pretty intense here in Tucson, too; many cases of skin cancer) - that can make it seem hotter than the actual 70 degrees.

The wind really is fierce almost all the time. We had a few days of relative calm but the weekend was quite wet and windy - all you locals, how common is that? I get the impression it is pretty normal/standard. When that happens, the temps seem to drop a good 15 degrees or more. The funny thing is that the locals do not even seem to notice that it is raining. They just continue on with whatever activity they were doing. Locals are rarely seen with umbrellas even when it is raining!

As for the water temp, (keeping in mind that I think 70 is a nice crisp winter temp), it was cold!! I certainly wouldn't be able to do any more than dip toes in. And, all the locals were wearing bodysuits - didn't see a single person out in the water with just a swimsuit.

I kindof get the impression it is a lot like Seattle...

So, locals, how about it? Is the wind/rain pretty common (2/week? 4/week?). What are winters like? Any snow? Or just lots of rain?

RR

[Carol]

So, locals, how about it?

Is the wind/rain pretty common (2/week? 4/week?).
did it rain this week?????
never even noticed! :cool

What are winters like?
cold - but not unbearable when you grew up in Northumberland........

Any snow?
no snow - just an occasional ground frost in Tawa.
Or just lots of rain?

well yes - but better to rain than snow.
And every time I go to Auckland it rains buckets!


All in all - there are good days and bad -
RR

[RoadRunner]

Is the wind/rain pretty common (2/week? 4/week?).
did it rain this week?????
never even noticed! cool yes

HA!

[sarahw]

Hi Roadrunner,

It was interesting to hear your take on the weather. You're right, people may look at the temperatures and think 23 degrees (C) isn't very warm but when you've got no ozone layer - it feels more like 30 degrees!

The temperatures dip at night, so its not like the UK (and parts of the US) where you can't sleep because of the heat at the end of a hot day (although its still warm enough to sit out still at 10pm), which I've found very pleasant in summer & will probably feel chilly in winter with no heating!

We do get wind here - there's no pretending we don't; the water front in the city is not a nice place to be on a very windy day. But, the wind is less or worse at certain times of the year so I'm told. Also, we do have calm days - I'm sat looking out over our garden on a nice calm day today - no wind.

Rain? I've been here 2 months now & we've only had 5 days of rain since we got here - the grass in our garden is looking decidedly brown (it has rained in the night a few nights but I've been asleep and missed it!)
I'm sure it will be really rainy at other times of the year though.

I'm sure coming out of a hot place like the desert that it will be a bit of a change! :eek and I can see why you're contemplating heating, but for us coming from England its been an absolutely wonderful summer here - I actually feel like I've had a summer rather than in the UK being able to count on one hand the lovely days we had last summer!!!

The water temperature? The sea isn't warm-warm but its warm enough to swim in - I had a swim in it a couple of weeks back on a lovely hot day & you see a lot of Kiwis out swimming every day in bathing suits (especially the old people who've probably being doing it since they were young).

Most kids wear the body suits because it covers them up from the sun getting to them & causing skin cancer later in life & I've noticed that its not unusual for people to be fully clothed on the beach rather than in bikinis & shorts. Infact I don't wear a swimsuit to the beach (which I used to in Europe) - I wear board shorts & a t-shirt on the beach & in the water as being a redhead I'm paranoid about the sun burning me & its fiercer with the reflection of the water. However, I think if the sun wasn't out & it wasn't summer I might be in a body suit.

[heimatseeker]

I kindof get the impression it is a lot like Seattle...

That's our impression, too. Not that different from San Francisco either as far as temperatures go, just windier and overall more rain. But when it's nice, it feels a lot warmer, and balmy summer nights do exists (unlike SF).

Had to smile at the comment about umbrellas - guess I'm turning into a local. When we first arrived here I made the mistake of taking my umbrella in a rain storm. It lasted for about a block and a half before it was completely destroyed. I never bothered buying a new one, now I just wear a jacket with a hood on rainy days and try to remember to bring a cloth to wipe my glasses afterwards. :P

It will be a big change coming from the desert, I'm sure, but it's really not as bad as it may sound. There's so much good stuff about Wellington that makes up for it...

[xanctus]

how bad is it wellington during winter? I assume not that much of snow, is it? I am thinking of getting a car which probably rear wheel drive, and if Wellli provides much snow during winter., then I'd probably better off picking another car which is front wheel drive.

[sarahw]

No snow! :mrgreen: Don't need to worry on that one - you may get a couple of frosts depending on where you are if its a clear night but that's it - mean temperature in winter is around 5-8 degrees.

[xanctus]

Thank you for the reply Sarah... good to hear that, so I can find my preffered car. :mrgreen: