Yes, it does rain on the West Coast, but not as much as you might think! Other places in New Zealand are a lot wetter - they're just better at hiding it! For example, in 2004 Hokitika got 1,964 hours of sunshine and Greymouth 1,980; both a good measure ahead of Auckland's 1,825 hours.
A few more tips that you may not know about are:
- West Coast winters consist of mild temperatures, rarely any frosts and often weeks in a row of near perfect sunshine.
- Summers on the West Coast can get so hot the only place to be is a lake or river.
- In the north, around Karamea, the climate borders on subtropical much of the year, evidenced by lush groves of nikau palms and thriving subtropical plantings.
- During winter months the alpine passes of Arthurs and Haast can be icy and do periodically get snow. For further information please visit the NZ Transpost Agency website .
Read about our Fire-sky sunsets and West Coast weather on our West Coast NZ blog.
West Coast Average Temperatures (°Celcius)
Summer: (Dec - Feb) 12-25°
Autumn: (March - May) 9-17°
Winter: (June - August) 5-15°
Spring: (Sept - Nov) 9-17°
West Coast Weather Forecasts
Check out full West Coast weather forecasts from the Metservice:
- Westport Weather Forecast
- Reefton Weather Forecast
- Greymouth Weather Forecast
- Hokitika Weather Forecast
West Coast Web Cams
View webcams for Punakaiki, Greymouth and Hokitika.
