We frequently joke, sometimes bitterly, that no-one lives in Wellington for the weather. Only a week or so ago we were remarking on some of the strongest wind gusts we had ever experienced here. Yet on a day like today, with blue sky and bright sunshine, warm temperatures yet a cooler wind keeping the mercury at a temperate level, Wellington can be glorious.
Here in Wellington, and indeed much of New Zealand, we tend to romanticise more extreme climates. We are not blessed with the endless hot summer days or romance of snowy landscapes you find in continental climates. And we occasionally wish we were. Our summers are fickle, the glorious weather of today can be followed by cold southerly storms. We think we’re expiring in the heat when they reach 27 degs C. (I still maintain that 27 C in Wellington is hotter than 27 C anywhere else in the world!) And last year, summer never even showed up. Our winters are variable. This year, winter was mild. No snow on our doorstep, unlike the year before, and I didn’t even need to wear a hat or gloves. There is the wind – you can rely on it to turn up eventually, but calm days can and do exist quite frequently. And it can and does rain at any time of the year. I remember trying to explain this concept to a group of Thais about to come to New Zealand to study. They were accustomed to rainy seasons, and dry seasons, and were appalled at the thought of year round rain. Weather forecasts mean something here – they tell us what activities we can and can’t do. There’s no guarantee that a summer barbecue will not be rained (or blown) out, or that a summer wedding won’t end up with everyone shivering in coats. The weather here is always temperamental, always unpredictable.
But today, when one of my Vermont Facebook friends complained that it is snowing again, and I hear on the radio that much of Australia burns (literally) in the face of temperatures exceeding 40 degs C, I am grateful for our temperate and temperamental climate after all.
I love the snow when I can x-country ski. This weekend I’m traveling and am praying for no snow! (It looks like we might get a heatwave of sorts, at this point.) And expiring in the heat at 27? It must be humid, eh?
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No, it’s not humid! I guess the “expiring” thing is more that our house faces west, and the entire west face is full length windows. So it gets hot inside – very hot. And we can’t cope!
(But I did say that 27 in Wellington is hotter than 27 in Thailand (brrrr) or at the beach (ahh bliss) didn’t I?)
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Our climate is all over the place, but the one thing you can count on is that there will be some unexpected weather event every year. Tornado on New Year’s Eve, when it’s supposed to be snowing? Yep. Hurricane-strength winds in the middle of the country? Sure, why not? (Which reminds me – I should ask my husband if he ever put that shingle back up on the roof.) 6 months of drought? Absolutely. A foot of snow in April? Whatever. Oh, you can also count on 100% humidity all summer when we’re not having a drought.
Wellington weather sounds lovely. And I know what you mean about your 27 degrees feeling hotter – I find it’s the strength of the sun that makes the difference.
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Yikes, it sounds hellish in Australia. I’ll take the wind and rain (even freezing rain) and snow any day over that…
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Helen, yes, you know when they say that the fire conditions in Australia are “catastrophic” that it must be bad.
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… and I’ve just read an article where they’re talking about temps of 50 degs. It’s mind-boggling.
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I’ve always had the idea that NZ had a more reasonable climate — it sounds, however, your weather is more like the Yorkshire moors than what I’d imagined. I will visit someday despite the weather.
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Dona – bear in mind I’m talking about Wellington weather, not NZ weather as a whole. Though as a set of islands in the south of the South Pacific we all have unpredictable weather, just Wellington’s is worst than most. My mother in the South Island has this summer had day after day of temps that are 30 degs plus, and is thankful for her heat pump/air conditioner. And my sister lives in a part of the country (further north) where she barely needs to own a winter coat. And Peony, who occasionally comments here, lives only an hour or so away, and constantly complains about Wellington’s weather/gloats annoyingly about her weather “over the hill.” Sigh. Still, we certainly don’t get the cold that the Yorkshire moors get. But equally we don’t get the three months of heat that DC gets.
When you do come, I just hope the weather will be pleasant enough for a glass (or bottle or three) of wine on our deck!
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Weather…I’m so grateful that there’s ONE thing left that we’re all subject to!
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