Rainbow Ski Area facts for kids
Rainbow Ski Area is a fun place to ski and snowboard in New Zealand's South Island. It's located near a town called Saint Arnaud. Even though it's close to Saint Arnaud, the ski area is actually in the Marlborough District.
The ski season at Rainbow usually runs from late June to early October. This is when there's enough snow for everyone to enjoy the slopes!
The ski area sits quite high up, between 1540 and 1768 metres above sea level. It's a great spot for skiers and snowboarders who are already a bit experienced. About 25% of the slopes are for beginners, 55% are for intermediate skiers, and 20% are for advanced skiers.
There are no places to stay right at the ski field. However, a shuttle bus can take you to and from Saint Arnaud, which is only about 35 minutes away.
Weather at Rainbow Ski Area
The weather at Rainbow Ski Area is very cold, like a 'tundra' climate. This means it's chilly for most of the year, especially in winter.
Even in summer, the weather can be cool. For example, in February, which is a summer month in New Zealand, the average high temperature is around 14.5 °C (58.1 °F). Sometimes, it can even drop below freezing at night during summer!
Winters are very cold. In July, which is a winter month, the average low temperature can reach about −6.2 °C (20.8 °F). On some winter days, the temperature might not even get above 0 °C (32 °F). The average temperature for the whole year at Rainbow Ski Area is about 4 °C (39.2 °F).
| Climate data for Rainbow Ski Area, 1,540 m | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 14.4 (57.9) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.8 (55.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
7 (45) |
4.5 (40.1) |
3.8 (38.8) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.6 (47.5) |
10.6 (51.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.2 (48.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 8.8 (47.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
1.9 (35.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
5.3 (41.5) |
7.3 (45.1) |
4.0 (39.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) |
3.3 (37.9) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
0.1 (32.2) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 131 (5.2) |
94 (3.7) |
113 (4.4) |
131 (5.2) |
139 (5.5) |
125 (4.9) |
127 (5.0) |
120 (4.7) |
142 (5.6) |
159 (6.3) |
148 (5.8) |
143 (5.6) |
1,572 (61.9) |
| Source: Climate-data.org, estimated from the Saint Arnaud weather station. | |||||||||||||
