We have reverted back to Standard Time (this puts us only 16 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time), and there is a chill in the air.  The leaves are turning a rainbow of colors as their trees ready to shed them for the winter.  Autumn is here in full force, along with all the smells, cool breezes, flavours, harvests, scarfs, boots, and sweaters that go with it.  I am still not used to April being Autumn instead of Spring, and according to one shopkeeper I talked to recently (who is an expat from the UK), it takes three years to re-program.

While there are distinct seasons here, they tend to be mild overall, as I discovered this past Summer. Growing up on the East Coast of the United States meant consistently hot and humid Summers, comfortable Springs and Autumns, and cold, windy winters with frequent snow. Christchurch’s Summer was, on most days, more like mid-Spring on the East Coast.  I am told that the average Winter temperature here hovers around between 5-9C (around 45F), which is considerably warmer than the Winters I am accustomed to (I guess numerous palm trees around the city also gave that one away).  Temperatures, however, are quite deceiving, as there are other factors that determine weather here.

Dissecting Crazy Christchurch Weather

Christchurch is located on the East Coast on a plain between the Southern Alps and a smaller mountain chain.  Weather comes from the warm Tasman Sea in the West, from the ocean in the East, and from Antarctica.  Occasionally, weather will even make its way down from the North.  Basically, Christchurch is in the middle of a battle between all of these winds, which contributes to its fickle and inconsistent weather.  Because it is next to impossible to predict even a few hours ahead, the weather reports are all over the place.  Combined with graphics a few decades behind, they are the butt of jokes everywhere.

Temperature means next to nothing based on the wind and the sun.  If the wind is coming from the South and it is brisk, this will quickly drop the “real feel temperature”. This means that you might need a jacket on a 24C (75F) day.  Additionally, the intense direct sunlight can easily add 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit to the “real feel temperature”, which, to my pleasant surprise, makes a 13F (55C) day feel more like my ideal weather of 24C (75F).  Strange!

Understanding some of the weather factors, the arrival of Autumn and (eventually) Winter does not seem so daunting as it did living on the East Coast of the United States (I have always equated it with walking down a long, dark tunnel with Spring at the distant end).  For example, last night was downright cold (and we might even have had frost); today, although the temperature started out near-freezing, the clear skies and bright sun has made it a beautifully crisp and pleasant day.  If Winter is like this, I think I am actually looking forward to it.