Christchurch, New Zealand

Ever wonder what it would be like if we lived at about the same latitude in the Southern Hemisphere? In New Zealand the city of Christchurch is located at 43° 31’ south so it is about as far south of the Equator as we are north of it. And thus, their summer is in December, January, and February. And it is now autumn there. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand and has a population of 377,200 in a country that has a total population of just under 5 million.

The name of “Christchurch” was agreed on at the first meeting of the “Canterbury Association” on March 27, 1848. “ChCh” used as an abbreviation of “Christchurch”.

Christchurch has a pleasant summer, mild winter, and regular moderate rainfall. It has mean daily maximum air temperatures of 22.5° C (73 °F) in January and 11.3 °C (52 °F) in July. In  summer in the city is mostly warm but is often moderated by a sea breeze from the Northeast. A record temperature of 41.6 °C (107 °F) was reached in February 1973. A notable feature of the weather is the Nor’wester , a hot wind that occasionally reaches storm force, causing widespread minor damage to property. Like many cities, Christchurch experiences an heat island effect; temperatures are slightly higher within the inner city regions compared to the surrounding countryside. In winter it is common for the temperature to fall below 0 °C (32 °F) at night. There are on average 80 days of ground frost per year. Snowfalls  occur on average three times per year, although in some years no snowfall is recorded. The coldest temperature recorded was −7.1 °C (19 °F) on July 18,1945, the third lowest recorded temperature of New Zealand’s major cities. On cold winter nights, the surrounding hills, clear skies, and frosty calm conditions often combine to form a stable inversion layer above the city that traps vehicle exhausts and smoke from domestic fires to cause smog.^[62] While not as bad as smog in Los Angeles or Mexico City, Christchurch smog has often exceeded WHO recommendations for air pollution. To limit air pollution, the regional council banned the use of open fires in the city in 2006.^[63] In 2008 council prohibited the use of woodturners more than 15 years old, while making funding available to upgrade domestic home heating systems.

Christchurch is on a island so they have a maritime climate thus their summers are cooler than ours and their winters are much warmer than ours. Here is are the average H/L for each month and the record highs and record lows and the % of sunshine for each month.. I for one would not mind if we had a similar climate as winter would be much more tolerable. Records there are from 1943 to 2019.

January average H/L 72/53. Record high 97 record low 37. Average % sunshine 48.3. rainfall 1.71”

February average H/L 71/53 record high 107 record low 35. Average % sunshine 49.1. rainfall 1.71”

March average   H/L 68/50 record high 97 record low 32. Average % sunshine 46.2. rainfall 2.08”

April average H/L 63/44 record high 86 record low 25. Average % sunshine 47.5. rainfall 2.08”

May average H/L 58/39 record high 81 record low 21. Average % sunshine 44.5. rainfall 2.48”

June average H/L 53/34 record high 73 record low 19. Average % sunshine 43.6. rainfall 2.30”

July average H/L 51/33 record high 73 record low 20. Average % sunshine 43.3. rainfall 2.46”

August average H/L 54/20 record high 73 record low 20. Average % sunshine 46.4. rainfall 2.27

September average H/L 58/39 record high 79 record low 24. Average % sunshine 47.2. rainfall 1.67”

October average H/L 62/43 record high 86 record low 24. Average % sunshine 49.0. rainfall 1.90”

November average H/L 66/47 record high 90 record low 27. Average % sunshine 49.1. rainfall 1.87”

December average H/L 70/51 record high 97 record low 32. Average % sunshine 45.0. rainfall 1.98.

With Christchurch being at about the same distance from the equator as Grand Rapids. It has a very nice year round climate. Pleasant summers and rather mild winters. Remember Christchurch is closer to the sun in their summer than we are in our summer so the sunlight would be a little stronger and in winter they are a little further away from the sun.

Back here in Grand Rapids the official H/L yesterday was 54/28 there was no rain/snow fall. The sun was out 96% of the possible time. For today the average H/L is 56/36 the record high of 82 was in 1977 the coldest high of 30 was in 1940 the record low of 19 was in 1939 and 1950 the warmest low of 59 was in 2023. The most rainfall of 1.12” was in 2019 the most snowfall of 1.2” was in 1989 the most on the ground was 3’ in 2007.

The overnight low so far here in MBY is 28 with clear skies.

DISCUSSION

ISSUED AT 337 AM EDT SAT APR 12 2025

– MOSTLY SUNNY AND DRY TODAY

A SECOND DAY OF ABUNDANT SUNSHINE IS ON THE WAY UNDERNEATH UPPER
LEVEL RIDGING AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE. PLENTY OF DRY AIR ABOVE
YESTERDAY’S RESIDUAL BOUNDARY LAYER TO MIX DOWN TODAY, SO THAT
SHOULD DROP RELATIVE HUMIDITY DOWN TO 30 PERCENT OR LOWER ONCE
AGAIN, WHILE TEMPERATURES CLIMB TO THE WARMER SIDE OF NORMAL IN THE
UPPER 50S TO AROUND 60 (BUT QUITE A BIT COOLER AT THE LAKE MICHIGAN
SHORE). WINDS WILL BE LIGHT, MORE VARIABLE IN DIRECTION IN MID
MICHIGAN, WHILE IN WEST MICHIGAN BECOMING MORE FROM THE SOUTHWEST.

– A FEW SHOWERS BETWEEN TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING

WARMER AIR WITH GREATER MOISTURE ARRIVING IN THE MID-LEVELS LATE
TONIGHT MAY PRODUCE LIGHT SHOWERS BUT WILL BE LIMITED BY DRIER AIR
IN THE LOW LEVELS EVEN GOING INTO MUCH OF THE DAY SUNDAY. SOME
MUCAPE IN THE MID-LEVELS MAY DEVELOP SUNDAY NIGHT AS AN UPPER-LEVEL
TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED DEEPENING UPPER MIDWEST SURFACE LOW APPROACHES
MICHIGAN. THAT MAY BE WORTH A MENTION OF A SLIGHT CHANCE
THUNDERSTORM. ADDITIONAL LIGHT SHOWERS, POSSIBLY A WET SNOW MIXING
IN, ARE POSSIBLE LATE MON NIGHT TO TUE MORNING UNDER THE DEEPENING
SYNOPTIC TROUGH. MONDAY AND TUESDAY ARE ALSO LOOKING RATHER BREEZY,
WITH GUSTS 30 TO 40 MPH.

– COOL MIDWEEK THEN WARMING LATE WEEK WITH A CHANCE OF STORMS

BELOW-NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY BOTH TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS A
LONG FETCH OF NORTHWEST WINDS BRINGS COLDER AIR DOWN FROM NORTH-
CENTRAL CANADA. THEN THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY, UPPER-LEVEL RIDGING IS
FAVORED TO BECOME REESTABLISHED FROM THE SOUTHERN US TO THE GREAT
LAKES WHILE A TROUGH DIGS INTO THE WESTERN US. A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF
ENSEMBLE MEMBERS DEVELOP PRECIP EITHER THURSDAY NIGHT OR FRIDAY AS
WARMER AIR WITH BETTER MOISTURE RETURNS AHEAD OF A DEVELOPING LOW-
PRESSURE SYSTEM. INSTABILITY MAY ALSO BE PRESENT AND PROVIDE A
CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.

 

Detailed Forecast for Grand Rapids

Today

Sunny, with a high near 59. Calm wind.

Tonight

A 20 percent chance of showers after 2am. Increasing clouds, with a low around 42. Light and variable wind.

Sunday

A slight chance of showers before 8am, then a chance of showers after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59. South wind 6 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Sunday Night

A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South southeast wind around 8 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Monday

A 20 percent chance of showers before 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 60. West wind 8 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph.

Monday Night

Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38.

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy, with a high near 46.

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Wednesday

Sunny, with a high near 52.

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, with a low around 35.

Thursday

A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 58.

Thursday Night

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.

Friday

Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 59.