Climate
Like much of the coastal Pacific Northwest, Nanaimo experiences a temperate climate with mild, rainy winters and cool, dry summers. Due to its relatively dry summers, the Köppen climate classification places it at the northernmost limits of the Csb or cool-summer Mediterranean zone. Other climate classification systems, such as Trewartha, place it firmly in the Oceanic zone (Do).
Nanaimo is usually shielded from the Aleutian Low’s influence by the mountains of central Vancouver Island, so that summers are unusually dry for its latitude and location — though summer drying as a trend is found in the immediate lee of the coastal ranges as far north as Skagway, Alaska.
Heavy snowfall does occasionally occur during winter, with a record daily total of 0.74 metres (29.13 in) on February 12, 1975, but the mean maximum cover is only 0.2 metres (7.9 in).
| Climate data for Nanaimo | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Humidex | 16.0 | 17.8 | 21.3 | 26.2 | 37.0 | 36.4 | 40.5 | 42.9 | 35.7 | 29.5 | 20.2 | 20.1 | 42.9 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.7 (71.1) |
26.1 (79.0) |
34.3 (93.7) |
34.5 (94.1) |
36.1 (97.0) |
36.7 (98.1) |
33.2 (91.8) |
29.3 (84.7) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.5 (63.5) |
36.7 (98.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.2 (43.2) |
8.2 (46.8) |
10.9 (51.6) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.8 (64.0) |
20.5 (68.9) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.6 (76.3) |
20.9 (69.6) |
14.6 (58.3) |
9.1 (48.4) |
6.1 (43.0) |
14.7 (58.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
4.2 (39.6) |
6.1 (43.0) |
8.8 (47.8) |
12.3 (54.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.9 (64.2) |
18.0 (64.4) |
14.8 (58.6) |
9.7 (49.5) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.9 (37.2) |
9.8 (49.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −0.8 (30.6) |
0.0 (32.0) |
1.3 (34.3) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
9.7 (49.5) |
11.8 (53.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
8.6 (47.5) |
4.8 (40.6) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.9 (40.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −17.8 (0.0) |
−16.7 (1.9) |
−12.2 (10.0) |
−5 (23) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
0.6 (33.1) |
2.8 (37.0) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−16.1 (3.0) |
−20 (−4) |
−20 (−4) |
| Wind chill | −22.4 | −18.4 | −14.1 | −6.7 | −6.7 | −0.7 | 2.5 | 2.7 | −2.7 | −6.7 | −22 | −21.2 | −22.4 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 169.5 (6.673) |
140.4 (5.528) |
112.4 (4.425) |
63.1 (2.484) |
49.9 (1.965) |
44.9 (1.768) |
25.9 (1.02) |
31.6 (1.244) |
38.5 (1.516) |
97.8 (3.85) |
198.6 (7.819) |
190.2 (7.488) |
1,162.8 (45.78) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 141.7 (5.579) |
122.5 (4.823) |
106.3 (4.185) |
62.9 (2.476) |
49.9 (1.965) |
44.9 (1.768) |
25.9 (1.02) |
31.6 (1.244) |
38.5 (1.516) |
97.0 (3.819) |
190.5 (7.5) |
166.4 (6.551) |
1,078.1 (42.445) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 27.2 (10.71) |
16.3 (6.42) |
5.6 (2.2) |
0.2 (0.08) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
1.1 (0.43) |
7.8 (3.07) |
22.8 (8.98) |
81 (31.89) |
| % humidity | 93.0 | 91.7 | 90.9 | 88.6 | 83.0 | 80.9 | 81.1 | 84.8 | 89.0 | 91.3 | 92.6 | 92.5 | 88.3 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 19.0 | 16.7 | 17.5 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 12.1 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 9.1 | 14.6 | 20.5 | 20.6 | 173.8 |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 16.8 | 15.3 | 17.2 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 12.1 | 7.9 | 7.5 | 9.1 | 14.5 | 20.0 | 18.5 | 167.2 |
| Avg. snowy days | 4.1 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 3.8 | 12.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 68.5 | 79.5 | 131.8 | 189.1 | 226.2 | 222.6 | 291.0 | 269.3 | 203.1 | 131.6 | 65.7 | 60.7 | 1,939.1 |
| Source: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Nanaimo, Location and Geography
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