Do lakes and rivers freeze over in New Zealand during winter months?

Question

also what about in Australia?

Answer 1

Hey wizard....rivers do freeze over when the environment is cold enough and even waterfalls can freeze over. Trust me I live in Canada...-45 degrees C with a wind chill of -60C freezes just about anything including your spit before it hits the ground.

As to the answer to the question.....excerpt from wikipedia

Climate
New Zealand has a temperate climate in the south island and sub-tropical climate in the North Island and the nature of the terrain, the prevailing winds and the length of the country lead to sharp regional contrasts. Temperatures sometimes exceed 30°C and only fall below 0°C in the elevated inland regions. Generally speaking, rainfall and humidity is higher in the west than the east of the country due to the north-south orientation of the mountain ranges and the prevailing westerly/north westerly winds.
and according to wikipedia it has a continental climate that doesnt go much below 0 degrees C
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_climate


The Australian record low is minus 23.0°C recorded at Charlotte Pass (NSW) on 29 June 1994. Only Perisher Valley and Kiandra have ever fallen below minus 20°C. Other Australian cold spots have been Gudgenby (ACT) minus 14.6°C, Shannon (TAS) minus 13.0°C and Mt Hotham (VIC) minus 12.8°C. Even Alice Springs (NT) has recorded a temperature of minus 7.5°C.
Excerpt from a web site about australia..."Spectacular Australia" covers this enormous country, the flattest and driest on earth, state by state. The guide includes images of the Great Barrier Reef (the largest coral reef on earth) and the massive glowing monoliths of the Red Centre in the Northern Territory. It features the snowcapped peaks and frozen lakes in the rain soaked wilderness of Tasmania.

SO in some spots in the higher elevations in australia it is possible for lakes to freeze over less likely in new zealand and I couldnt find any info about it just that they have glaciers
http://www.newzealand.com/travel/sights-activities/scenic-highlights/natural-phenomena/sh-west-coast-glaciers.cfm

Answer 2

Depends on which part you're at. South Island gets all the snow so I wouldn't be surprise if they do. It gets really cold during the winter and stay that way for awhile. but I've never seen the river that wasn't too far from where I lived, froze. Australia? I don't know. I've only been to Sydney. its hot as Arizona in that place.

Answer 3

convinced, freezing is amazingly in all likelihood. even if... both international places take a seat at a truly northern decision so the elements is mostly volatile on the western coasts. that is a captivating sparkling, chilly day once you awaken, and a hotter howling gale by skill of the time you've lunch. The eastern coasts are typically drier and colder interior the iciness because the important route for climate hitting Scotland is from the west; eire is an similar. Any rain has typically fallen beforehand it reachs the east. Temperatures can attain 80 fahrenheit in a regular summer season, time-honored in Scotland is in route of seventy fahrenheit inspite of the actuality that.

Answer 4

The lowest temperature ever recorded in NZ was minus 22 Celsius in Central Otago. This is inland in the southern part of the South Island. They go ice skating and curling quite often in winter. We've got glaciers in the South Island too. But I've never heard of ice on any of our major rivers. I remember driving across the middle of Tasmania, which is fairly high up and I saw some thin ice on a puddle, and it was in the middle of summer.

Answer 5

Keep in mind that winter in NZ is June/July/August if you didn't already know. The North island doesn't get very cold, but the South island gets pretty chilly, especially the southern most part (Invercargill).

They have warm Christmas seasons. Windows wide open on Christmas night.

Answer 6

rivers do not freeze... running water will not freeze

Answer 7

I believe so; they have an active ski season, right now.