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Paper model scene of rain clouds soaking green mountains on one side of a ridge and dry gold hills on the other

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Milford Sound gets almost 7 metres of rain a year, NIWA says, while Alexandra gets about 30 cm

NIWA, now part of Earth Sciences New Zealand, says places like Milford Sound get almost 7 metres of rain a year. About 100 km away, in the rain shadow of the mountains, Alexandra in Central Otago averages about 30 cm. Westerly winds and the mountains explain the difference.

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By Queenstown Tourism Editorial Desk

The short versionStart here
  1. 1NIWA says places like Milford Sound get almost 7 metres of rain a year.
  2. 2NIWA says Alexandra in Central Otago averages about 30 cm of rain a year.
  3. 3NIWA says Central Otago is only about 100 km from Milford Sound, in the rain shadow.
  4. 4NIWA explains that westerly winds carry moist air to the west coast, where the mountains force it to rise and rain falls.

Milford Sound is known for rain, and NIWA, now part of Earth Sciences New Zealand, puts a number on it. In its climate lessons for teachers, NIWA says the west coast of the South Island gets very high rainfall in places like Milford Sound, almost 7 metres of rain a year.

The reason is the wind and the mountains. NIWA explains that New Zealand lies in the belt of strong westerly winds known as the Roaring Forties, and those winds carry moist air towards the west coast. When the air meets the mountains it is forced to rise. As it rises it cools, clouds form and rain falls, which NIWA calls orographic rainfall. Most of that rain falls on the western side of the ranges.

The eastern side is in what NIWA calls the rain shadow, where only small amounts of rain fall. NIWA's comparison is stark: only about 100 km from Milford Sound, Central Otago is in the rain shadow, and places like Alexandra average about 30 cm of rain a year.

That is the pattern NIWA describes: very high rainfall on the west coast, and a much drier rain shadow to the east.

People also ask

Questions visitors are asking

How much rain does Milford Sound get a year?
NIWA, now part of Earth Sciences New Zealand, says places like Milford Sound on the west coast of the South Island get almost 7 metres of rain a year. That is very high rainfall. NIWA contrasts it with Alexandra in Central Otago, about 100 km away, which averages about 30 cm.
Why is Milford Sound so wet?
NIWA explains that strong westerly winds carry moist air to the west coast of New Zealand. The mountains force that air to rise; as it rises it cools, clouds form and rain falls. Most of the rain falls on the western side of the ranges, which is where Milford Sound sits.
Why is Central Otago so dry compared with Milford Sound?
Central Otago lies in the rain shadow on the eastern side of the mountains, NIWA says, where only small amounts of rain fall. So although Alexandra is only about 100 km from Milford Sound, NIWA says it averages about 30 cm of rain a year, against almost 7 metres at Milford Sound.
Is Milford Sound one of the wettest places on earth?
We do not make that claim. NIWA, now part of Earth Sciences New Zealand, says places like Milford Sound get almost 7 metres of rain a year, which it calls very high rainfall. We have not found a primary source that ranks Milford Sound against the rest of the world, so we leave it there.

Worth knowing

  1. NIWA puts rainfall in places like Milford Sound at almost 7 metres a year, against about 30 cm at Alexandra, roughly 100 km away.

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