Vancouver and Metropolitan Area: Climate

Metro Vancouver has a mild climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. This gentle climate attracts residents from across Canada.

Located in the southwest corner of B.C., the region is located in the mountains and valleys of the southwestern edge of the Coast Mountains, which extend 1600 kilometres down the coastline of the province from the Alaskan Panhandle.

Another major geographic feature of this region, the Fraser River, flows 1,375 kilometres from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains, through the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver, and drains into the Pacific Ocean.

A temperate rainforest covers the mountains and valleys of the west coast. Along the shorelines of the Pacific Ocean, these rainforests provide some of the province's most beautiful scenery. Precipitation from the Pacific Ocean arrives in the form of snow higher in the mountains in winter and rain in other parts of the year.

Rainfall varies, depending on the time of year and the location. The average annual rainfall in the region is about 1118 millimetres, or 1.2 metres.

Snow does not usually accumulate at lower elevations during the winter, but will stay for much of the winter at higher elevations.

The average annual temperatures in the region range from five degrees Celsius in winter to 23 °C in summer. 

Also check Environment Canada’s weather office for more up-to-date forecasts, satellite pictures and other information on weather in B.C. and the Vancouver area.