Best climate in NZ

[bpo]

When it's nice on the West Coast, it's stunning.

[spwill]

Is Tekapo NZ coldest town ?

Lake Tekapo village is more of a locality than anything. It's basically a gas station stop with a couple hotel/motels and cafes. The population hovers around the very low 100s most of the year.
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Thanks, I know the area well. From a weather interest point of view they get plenty of snow there.

[RWood]

Upper Hutt has a good climate. It's sheltered from the cold southerlies that Wellington gets.
It my be 26C in Upper Hutt but in Wellington it will be just 19C.

The average difference in daily maxs is far less than that! And the nights are much colder in UH. Furthermore, it is considerably less sunny than the city, as well as being 10-15% wetter - it's on the fringe of the storage lakes zone, the latter getting over 2000mm per year at Kaitoke. No way UH!

I work at Petone, and even only that far north of the city the reduced sheltering from westerly cloud is quite evident.
Lower Hutt in the east is a better bet than Upper Hutt, being a little warmer and sunnier.

[RWood]

Yes I find Twizel much better than Tekapo, much less wind and warmer summers but less sun in the winter with the fog. Tekapo also catches the NE wind over burkes pass and that shaves a good 5C of the temps.

Nobody has mentioned the West coast! Stats don't tell the true story of a climate, and yes I know it gets lots of rain in mm terms but this falls very quick and often clears very quick too.
Having a bach there for many years I have learnt that the forecasts for there are very poor and often say heavy rain all weekend when in fact it was sunny and warm most of it but a few 20min heavy showers.
I would have to say in fact that the climate over there is far better than the coastal CHCH area overall and much more stable(not 35 one day and 16 the next).

Period averages for the times Twizel was operating show it having the same mean annual temps as Tekapo - a little warmer in summer and decidedly colder in winter. It is also less sunny than Tekapo. No question as to which has the better scenic outlook.

West Coast? - only if you like rain, and I don't. While it is comparatively sunny given the rainfall, it certainly doesn't match up with Ch'ch or for that matter anywhere in the east from mid-Canterbury northwards.

[RWood]

My worst travel weather experience by far was a rain-sodden trip from 23rd to 28th Dec 1989 down the length of the W Coast - lightened for a while on the 25th at Hokitika but didn't stop, and was torrential on several of the days. It wasn't on to even look at the glaciers as the paths were flooding. We barely escaped over the Haast Pass before the road closed. Cropp River (Waterfall) set one of its mnay national records during this time, from memory - most rainfall in 24 hours (758mm).

[bpo]

Yes I find Twizel much better than Tekapo, much less wind and warmer summers but less sun in the winter with the fog. Tekapo also catches the NE wind over burkes pass and that shaves a good 5C of the temps.

Nobody has mentioned the West coast! Stats don't tell the true story of a climate, and yes I know it gets lots of rain in mm terms but this falls very quick and often clears very quick too.
Having a bach there for many years I have learnt that the forecasts for there are very poor and often say heavy rain all weekend when in fact it was sunny and warm most of it but a few 20min heavy showers.
I would have to say in fact that the climate over there is far better than the coastal CHCH area overall and much more stable(not 35 one day and 16 the next).

Period averages for the times Twizel was operating show it having the same mean annual temps as Tekapo - a little warmer in summer and decidedly colder in winter. It is also less sunny than Tekapo. No question as to which has the better scenic outlook.

West Coast? - only if you like rain, and I don't. While it is comparatively sunny given the rainfall, it certainly doesn't match up with Ch'ch or for that matter anywhere in the east from mid-Canterbury northwards.

No routinely inhabited place in NZ gets much snow. Snow depths are commonly exaggerated. And Meridian Energy's weather records indicate the annual sunshine hours in Twizel often exceed those of Lake Tekapo village. Not always, but often enough to be of some significance. In fact, the chief hydrologist likes to "remind" others that Twizel's annual sunshine hours often exceed those recorded in the Nelson/Marlborough region.

Scenic-wise, Lake Tekapo has a... lake. True. And it's very nice. But further south you have stunning views of Mount Cook and the Alps unseen from Lake Tekapo, as well as th insanely scenic Lakes Pukaki and Ohau.

Lake Tekapo is cold in winter, and windy the year 'round. Twizel is cold and foggy in winter. Both are nice places, but I'd live in neither. And snow? Go to Canada if you like that stuff, because there's not much of it around here, despite many hysterical claims to the contrary.

[snowstormwatcher]

About 70cm in Tekapo last winter Bpo. From what Ive experienced Tekapo often has heavy snow but when you drive south you run out of the snow around Irishmen creek area.

[bpo]

About 70cm in Tekapo last winter Bpo. From what Ive experienced Tekapo often has heavy snow but when you drive south you run out of the snow around Irishmen creek area.

I drove to and through Lake Tekapo most every day during that period and never was the snow anywhere near that deep except possibly in drifts under trees, etc.

[RWood]

Many places are now reporting suspect sunshine stats, and twizel doesn't even appear in niwa databases yet. May be another whakatane or new Plymouth.

[melja]

Its under pukaki airport, yes I know its called pukaki but its only 1min drive from twizel

[snowstormwatcher]

About 70cm in Tekapo last winter Bpo. From what Ive experienced Tekapo often has heavy snow but when you drive south you run out of the snow around Irishmen creek area.

I drove to and through Lake Tekapo most every day during that period and never was the snow anywhere near that deep except possibly in drifts under trees, etc.

How much Snow was there? im only going by what I was told by some locals that the snow was up to the wing mirrors on their car. I was up there a week or so later and there was about 25-30cm but had packed down due to the frost

[Razor]

About 70cm in Tekapo last winter Bpo. From what Ive experienced Tekapo often has heavy snow but when you drive south you run out of the snow around Irishmen creek area.

Thats because you lose elevation as you head south down the Basin. Tekapo is higher than Irishman Creek, Wolds and Maryburn etc.

I would live in Tekapo in a heartbeat, wonderful place

[RWood]

About 70cm in Tekapo last winter Bpo. From what Ive experienced Tekapo often has heavy snow but when you drive south you run out of the snow around Irishmen creek area.

Thats because you lose elevation as you head south down the Basin. Tekapo is higher than Irishman Creek, Wolds and Maryburn etc.

I would live in Tekapo in a heartbeat, wonderful place

it's the choice spot of the region for me

[NZstorm]

Twizel would be NZ's most frosty town with an average of 176 frosts a year! Average daily min in June is -3.9C. Mean annual temp 9C.
Lake Tekapo similar numbers.

[RWood]

Its under pukaki airport, yes I know its called pukaki but its only 1min drive from twizel

Nothing shown in CliFlo yet (daily or monthly sunshine) for any Pukaki station .... as far as I can see.

[melja]

It maybe a Metservice station so will be of little use I guess.
Seems odd not to have a NIWA one there now days.

[spwill]

Tekapo is a tourist stop, expensive, poor food.
The area has a short warm season, April is a cold month
They can get heavy snow there, will be an orographic effect happening. I saw a good dump on the ground there last Winter, I think about 50cm and that was several days after the fall.
For me the real beauty spot in the area is Lake Alexandria, there is a collection of holiday homes there.

[RWood]

It maybe a Metservice station so will be of little use I guess.
Seems odd not to have a NIWA one there now days.

Both MetService and NIWA-managed sites have records in CliFlo. That hydrologist should explain his equipment and methods and get NIWA to take his data if it stands up to scrutiny.

[RWood]

Tekapo is a tourist stop, expensive, poor food.
The area has a short warm season, April is a cold month
They can get heavy snow there, will be an orographic effect happening. I saw a good dump on the ground there last Winter, I think about 50cm and that was several days after the fall.
For me the real beauty spot in the area is Lake Alexandria, there is a collection of holiday homes there.

The other lake is nice, but Tekapo is the gem. It has lovely dramatic colour contrasts. On my many trips between Central Otago and Ch'ch, I always wanted to linger at Tekapo. Food issues and the like could easily be fixed.

A very light easterly breeze at Tekapo one classic January day still allowed the blue dome day to reach the lowish 20s. Once at and past Burke's Pass it was straight into dismal inversion clag - cold and miserable for the time of year - over the whole of the Plains.

My minority preferences (but not as small a minority as some would have it) are illustrated by a very simple test - I would much rather have Tekapo's climate than Waimate's. The latter had some terrible sun stats in its recording days.

[melja]

It maybe a Metservice station so will be of little use I guess.
Seems odd not to have a NIWA one there now days.

Both MetService and NIWA-managed sites have records in CliFlo. That hydrologist should explain his equipment and methods and get NIWA to take his data if it stands up to scrutiny.

Here is the Pukaki Metservice site and one would think it also records sun hours too.
http://www.airportpukaki.co.nz/liveairportweather

[RWood]

It maybe a Metservice station so will be of little use I guess.
Seems odd not to have a NIWA one there now days.

Both MetService and NIWA-managed sites have records in CliFlo. That hydrologist should explain his equipment and methods and get NIWA to take his data if it stands up to scrutiny.

Here is the Pukaki Metservice site and one would think it also records sun hours too.
http://www.airportpukaki.co.nz/liveairportweather

I'll make enquiries ...

[NZstorm]

Getting off topic here a bit but at Xmas I noticed Lake Wakatipu now has the turquoise look of Lake Pukaki. I heard a radio report saying that rock sediment is being washed into the lake via the Dart and Rees rivers. Geographically interesting.