Is Welly weather conducive to cycling? Actually, yes.

There’s a perception that it’s too windy and wet to ride your bike regularly in Wellington. But cycling advocate Steve dived into NIWA’s Wellington weather stats from the last few decades. He found that – not only has the amount light wind been more than you’d expect, but it’s remained consistent into the present.

Steve made this infographic after studying NIWA’s weather data* for the year 2010, a typical year from Niwa’s data block of 1981 – 2010. During this 30 year period, the average wind speed was 18.9km per hour (categorised ‘Gentle’ on the Beaufort Wind Scale). The period from 2010 – 2023 has the ‘wind run’ (average wind speed) at 18.6kmh which shows the same conditions apply now.

A similar process was used to extract the rainfall data.

Readings from Centreport’s mast at Glasgow Wharf, and numerous clubs like the outdoor arts groups, corroborate these findings – you can’t use easels and watercolours in wind and rain!

*The information was from NIWA’s “Cliflo” data program, covering the period 1981-2023.