Photo: Zacharycmango · CC BY-SA 4.0Few Canadian towns get fewer frosts than Burnaby
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 23.0°C. Some 20°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Its yearly rain and snow top those of 97% of Canadian towns. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 142 days a year with 1 mm or more.
Borrowed figures: Burnaby has no normals station, so these come from Vancouver (Harbour), 12 km north-west.
A year in Burnaby at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Burnaby’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Burnaby feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 17 frosts and 87 warm days a year
Frosts fall from November to March; January has the most, about 6.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,537 mm of rain and snow a year
November is the wettest month and July the driest.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
About 37 cm of snow a year
From November to March snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 14 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snowfall: Vancouver International (Airport), 16 km away (Vancouver (Harbour) records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Burnaby
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to March.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. In heating terms, homes need less heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Burnaby’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Plan time outside for May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for Burnaby: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Vancouver (Harbour)
Every temperature, frost, snow and degree-day figure on this page is the 1991–2020 normal ECCC publishes for Vancouver (Harbour).
| Distance from the town | 12 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 3 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Vancouver International (Airport), 16 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −9.0°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.9°C |
| Next-nearest location | Vancouver International (Airport), 16 km |
How Burnaby compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Burnaby’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 6–15 km from Burnaby.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burnaby Vancouver (Harbour) | 23.0°C | 3.3°C | 1,537 mm |
| New Westminster 6.0 km · Pitt Meadows | 25.0°C 2.0°C warmer | 0.5°C 2.8°C colder | 1,649 mm |
| Richmond 15 km · Vancouver International (Airport) | 22.4°C 0.6°C cooler | 1.4°C 1.9°C colder | 1,160 mm |
Burnaby weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.4°C | 3.3°C | 5.3°C | 237 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 8.4°C | 3.3°C | 5.9°C | 117 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 10.5°C | 4.6°C | 7.6°C | 163 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 13.9°C | 6.9°C | 10.4°C | 118 mm | under 1 cm |
| May | 17.8°C | 10.2°C | 14.0°C | 73 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 20.2°C | 12.8°C | 16.5°C | 66 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.0°C | 14.9°C | 19.0°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.0°C | 14.8°C | 18.9°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.4°C | 12.1°C | 15.8°C | 71 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.9°C | 8.6°C | 11.2°C | 157 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 9.7°C | 5.3°C | 7.5°C | 245 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 7.1°C | 3.2°C | 5.2°C | 200 mm | 14 cm |
| Year | 14.5°C | 8.3°C | 11.4°C | 1,537 mm | 37 cm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 1.5°C; the steadiest, July
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; June’s run from −2.8°C in 2007 to 30.6°C in 2015.
Where Burnaby’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Vancouver (Harbour), 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Burnaby’s climate
How warm does Burnaby get in summer?
Afternoons average 23.0°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Burnaby get in winter?
Deep winter means December, when nights average 3.2°C.
How much rain and snow does Burnaby get?
About 1,537 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. November is the wettest month (245 mm) and July the driest (44 mm).
Are these figures for Burnaby itself?
Not quite: they come from Vancouver (Harbour), the closest ECCC normals location to Burnaby.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Burnaby →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).