How long winter will go

Manukau heads obs · Sat 18/08/2007 23:29

if you live in a hollow/valley and are away from the sea, then yup, you will get a frost alright
Bryndweryn, up in southern Northland, gets -1.0 frosts too

(its in a hollow )
Waiuku is in a hollow and it gets down to -1.5oC frosts (air temperature) at times

tich · Unread post by **tich** » Sun 19/08/2007 00:27

Winter comes and goes as it pleases down here in Canterbury - we might get a long mild spell in late winter with west or northwesterly flow, and then a sudden icy blast. (like in September 2005)

David · Unread post by **David** » Sun 19/08/2007 08:07

But I don't live in a hollow or valley, and am 2km away from eastern beach. This is why I am puzzled. Howick is not too hilly either and so I also don't know why we have more rain here.

I'm sure its not my rain gauge accuracy, the eastern beach weather station has recorded 847mm (870mm here)

Manukau heads obs · Sun 19/08/2007 08:09

thats actualy a close enough reading
its surprising how much rainfall varies

if the surrounding area is flatish, not too hilly, then you will also get frosts easy enough
also because you are a fair way inland from the SW coastal winds, its that wind drop off at night that allows the escape of radiated heat to space and so a frost at the surface

David · Unread post by **David** » Sun 19/08/2007 08:25

Yes I have noticed on days with a SW or W breeze that often it does drop away. There are many times when it has been 6C here in the morning with no wind and about 10C with a moderate breeze at your station.

However when there is weather approaching from the east or northeast the wind drops off at other locations and remains here - one morning this winter it was 10C here with an E breeze, and it was 4C at the airport and 2C at Waiuku. 8C difference

Michael · Unread post by **Michael** » Sun 19/08/2007 09:45

The wind has really got up here but at least its quite sunny though 13Â°

NZstorm · Unread post by **NZstorm** » Sun 19/08/2007 10:02

Another factor governing frost distribution in Auckland is the urban heat Island which is more significant now than it used to be. Its strongest over the central city area.

Janos · Unread post by **Janos** » Sun 19/08/2007 11:00

Some interesting stats here, all ways knew that Auckland was a wet locality 870mm of rain so far compared to Dunedins 390mm.
As for Australia well my daughter is currently in Townsville for a few months definitely warm there with temps ranging between 17-29deg most
days but the South of the country is definitely cool. Seems like the Dunedin winter been longish and cold but not too severe a warmer clime does hold some attraction
after 4 and half decades.

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Sun 19/08/2007 11:22

When I was living in Dunedin & Invercargill I was young enough to be indifferent to the cold (not exactly in the tropics now, but it's warmer than those places). What did not impress me was that they were the 2 least sunny of the significant towns. Had an enjoyable time in Dunedin as a student and (for a short time) on univ. staff however.

Janos · Unread post by **Janos** » Sun 19/08/2007 11:37

RWood wrote:When I was living in Dunedin & Invercargill I was young enough to be indifferent to the cold (not exactly in the tropics now, but it's warmer than those places). What did not impress me was that they were the 2 least sunny of the significant towns. Had an enjoyable time in Dunedin as a student and (for a short time) on univ. staff however.

Hit the nail on the head...thats the one comment heard frequently is how the grey weather gets to people...living in Macandrew bay which is one of the sunnier of Dunedins suburbs doesnt really help too much. I must admit to being very aware of the cold this year.

spwill · Unread post by **spwill** » Sun 19/08/2007 11:45

all ways knew that Auckland was a wet locality 870mm of rain so far compared to Dunedins 390mm.

Dewpoints are higher in Auckland so when it rains the rain is heavier than Dunedin rain. Would be interesting to campare the number of rain days between Ak and Dunedin but a rain day can also be a good day. We get a lot of afternoon heat/convergence showers here through the warmer months during fine weather.

NZstorm · Unread post by **NZstorm** » Sun 19/08/2007 12:02

Musselborough averages 120 wet days (1.0mm+) while Auckland averages 130 such days.(historical met service figures). Aucklands reputation as a rainy place is possibly well earned but we have a west coast climate after all.

Andrew Massie · Unread post by **Andrew Massie** » Sun 19/08/2007 12:08

David wrote:
ps new to the forum

Welcome aboard!

Beautiful day here today (Chch), frosty initially, but I certainly feel springy!

RWood · Unread post by **RWood** » Sun 19/08/2007 12:25

Janos wrote: When I was living in Dunedin & Invercargill I was young enough to be indifferent to the cold (not exactly in the tropics now, but it's warmer than those places). What did not impress me was that they were the 2 least sunny of the significant towns. Had an enjoyable time in Dunedin as a student and (for a short time) on univ. staff however.

Hit the nail on the head...thats the one comment heard frequently is how the grey weather gets to people...living in Macandrew bay which is one of the sunnier of Dunedins suburbs doesnt really help too much. I must admit to being very aware of the cold this year.

I think resilience against the cold tends to reduce with age...

It can be noted that in the last few years Dunedin (& to a lesser extent Invercargill) has recorded significantly more sunshine than formerly, or at least compared with years before the mid-90s (gap in records between 1997 & 2002)

Gary Roberts · Unread post by **Gary Roberts** » Sun 19/08/2007 14:14

RWood wrote:I think resilience against the cold tends to reduce with age...

Yep, many of the older folk around here used to go elsewhere during winter. Not so much recently because we barely get winters now.

Janos · Unread post by **Janos** » Mon 20/08/2007 09:24

Gary Roberts wrote:
RWood wrote:I think resilience against the cold tends to reduce with age...
Yep, many of the older folk around here used to go elsewhere during winter. Not so much recently because we barely get winters now.

I guess Omarama does get some pretty lame winters....you never no it may soon be like the Noosa of the South (a retirement village).

Andrew Massie · Unread post by **Andrew Massie** » Mon 20/08/2007 09:46

Janos wrote:I guess Omarama does get some pretty lame winters....you never no it may soon be like the Noosa of the South (a retirement village).

Hahaha! Good news for Gary! Plenty of rich old biddies to prey on!

Actually, isn't that what Alexandra is? Although they get pretty hell winters, don't they?

Lovely here in Chch today.. Loving seeing that big ball of Hydrogen gracing our skies... $\:D/$

Andy · Unread post by **Andy** » Mon 20/08/2007 10:13

Actually, isn't that what Alexandra is? Although they get pretty hell winters, don't they?

Yep they all go to Gold Coast or Sunshaine Coast for 6 weeks.

Andrew Massie · Unread post by **Andrew Massie** » Mon 20/08/2007 10:33

Andy wrote:Yep they all go to Gold Coast or Sunshaine Coast for 6 weeks.

Geez, no wonder all Ambulance officers in Australia are fully paid (no volunteers)! With an influx like that, and the excitement for the biddies... lethal combination!

southernthrash · Unread post by **southernthrash** » Mon 20/08/2007 15:06

RWood wrote:When I was living in Dunedin & Invercargill I was young enough to be indifferent to the cold (not exactly in the tropics now, but it's warmer than those places). What did not impress me was that they were the 2 least sunny of the significant towns. Had an enjoyable time in Dunedin as a student and (for a short time) on univ. staff however.

Invercargill's weather is far and away more exciting than Dunedin, in fact over the last couple of years I've been finding the weather in Dunedin remarkably boring, love getting home to a real sou'wester.

And gary if we guaged seasons subjectively based on temperature winter would almost never occur on Coronet Peak

Lawrence · Unread post by **Lawrence** » Mon 20/08/2007 15:54

I have been pondering this question for a few days now and have come to the conclusion that only nature knows when spring is here. In the spring, the air temperatures may be warm for a few days, but this will have little effect on the soil temperature. Only when the days and nights both stay warm for an extended period of time will the soil temperature start to rise. Generally the optimal daytime soil temperature for maximum plant seed germination and production in the shortest time is 20ÂºC- 25ÂºC. When the sun warms the soil outdoors to the proper level, seeds will germinate. But it is soil temperature that invites the seeds to germinate, not air temperature. Because of constant moisture loss to the atmosphere, the soil temperature is always cooler than the air temperature. Remember that evaporation cools the media holding the moisture. Therefore I lay my argument that spring starts at different times at different places. Unfortunately I canâ€™t explain reasonably when spring begins in places where the soil temperature is always 68ÂºF- 77ÂºF.

And then there are the trees and budburst?

Andy · Unread post by **Andy** » Mon 20/08/2007 18:44

Well said

Andrew Massie · Unread post by **Andrew Massie** » Mon 20/08/2007 19:19

Yeah, karsh, can't argue with that!

Manukau heads obs · Mon 20/08/2007 19:43

Soil temperature up on normal here
(currently at 14oC)
due to a lack of frosts/cold nights over the winter

David · Unread post by **David** » Tue 21/08/2007 07:25

Still much like Winter here this morning - car outside has iced over.

Low here of 1.9C

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