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Thread: Kiwi Rain

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
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    UK
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    4

    Question Kiwi Rain

    OK, please help settle a pub debate with a Kiwi friend.

    According to the data, London rains 165 days a year, Auckland 176, Tauranga 162 and CCH 130.
    So, with the exception of CCH, there are as many wet days in these parts of NZ as there are in London.

    However, my good Kiwi friend is quick to add, "rain in NZ is different. NZ rains more... but it rains 'less'." In London it'll drizzle all day but in AKL it will unleash a squall and then clear up with bright blue skies. They don't get long grey rainy days like we do in London. Hmmmm...

    I've been to many rainy places in the world - from Vancouver to Tokyo and I'm pretty sure that most rain is wet and makes you cold. A few tropical cities have that flash rain weather pattern like KL and Singapore but doubtful about AKL as it lies further south.

    Is he pulling my leg or does the real weather picture in NZ somehow elude the met office's data?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    France
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    Default

    I don't know if you ever visited this website http://www.climatetemp.info/new-zealand/auckland.html it shows that:
    Auckland receives on average 1243 mm (48.9 in) of precipitation annually or 104 mm (4.1 in) each month.

    On balance there are 185 days annually on which greater than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow or hail) occurrs or 15 days on an average month.
    http://www.climatetemp.info/united-kingdom/london.html
    London receives on average 594 mm (23.4 in) of precipitation annually or 50 mm (1.9 in) each month.

    On balance there are 164 days annually on which greater than 0.1 mm (0.004 in) of precipitation (rain, sleet, snow or hail) occurrs or 14 days on an average month.
    Does not really answer your questions, but adds figures to the stats ;-)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    37,824

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    I'm British, but have spent plenty of time in Auckland in various seasons, and I agree with your Kiwi friend for the most part. Auckland is subtropical, and the native bush is rain forest. You CAN get a day in Auckland when there's nothing but rain (not nothingy drizzle, though) all day, but more often, it's as he describes - if you don't like the weather (when it's THROWING water at you as if you were in a car wash), wait ten minutes.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Waimauku near Auckland
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    When is rains in Auckland the temperature goes up!

  5. #5
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    Jan 2012
    Location
    Wellington, New Zealand
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    Kiwi hubby grew up in Auckland and says that in NZ, Auckland especially, you get bursts of heavy rain and then it's done with and bright sun again.

    I've seen climate stats that show far more sunny days in most/all NZ than London, but also equal or higher days of rain.

    And don't forget the Crowded House song - 4 seasons in one day. That refers to NZ weather after all!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
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    North Canterbury to UK
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    Yup the rain here can be warmer and a long cold grey damp drizzly day is a rare occurrence compared to the frequency of them back in Blighty

  7. #7
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    Nov 2009
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    Vancouver, BC > Auckland
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    Rain in New Zealand is different. Vancouver and Auckland have about the same total annual rainfall and Vancouver averages 166 days of rain, less than the 176 you mentioned for Auckland. But it feels much different because the sun usually shines for a bit every day. Hardly ever do we get the grey rainy dark days that I am used to from winter in Vancouver. In Auckland, the rain falls for a bit, then stops.

    Umbrella use also is different. Our apartment in Vancouver had an umbrella stand by the door with 5-6 umbrellas in different sizes etc. And in winter, I would never leave for work without one. Here I have an umbrella but rarely use it. If it is raining, you often can just wait for it to stop. People at work do that all the time if they are going out to get lunch. Of course this does mean you risk getting caught when the rain starts suddenly.

  8. #8
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    May 2012
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    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
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    Another Vancouverite--how cool! I'm hoping to be in Auckland mid-August.

    When did you move to NZ? How are you finding it?

  9. #9
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    Aug 2009
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    Scotland to Wellington
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    Don't be fooled by all this talk of warm rain, when it rains in Wellington you get wet. And cold. And you don't use an umbrella because it would blow away. The main advantage over the UK though is that when it rains, it doesn't settle in for days and weeks at a time. Weather patterns change much more rapidly, the wind can blow the rain away and the next day the sun is shining. One of the advantages of living in the roaring forties.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Essex, UK
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    Quote Originally Posted by girlwithanewf View Post
    Don't be fooled by all this talk of warm rain, when it rains in Wellington you get wet. And cold.
    Yup, same for Auckland...

    Also, what I have found is that if you plan your weekends, it doesn't really matter if it rains continually or intermittently, I don't really go for an overnight tramp even if it only rains half the time. So the effect on my outdoor planning is similar whether it rains all the time or just some of the time.

    The other thing I have found is that in spite of all attempts at complete denial about the climate here, it does rain a lot, and it can be miserable for more than five minutes. However, since no one admits to this, there is rather little you can do in the rain. I usually liken this approach to weather to someone throwing away their umbrella saying 'there, it won't rain anymore'...

    Daniela

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