Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainAfternoon heat in Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay beats that of 95% of Canadian towns
Deep winter brings January lows near −3.8°C. Its January nights stay gentler than in 93% of Canadian towns. Of all months, June brings the most precipitation and March the least. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 97 times a year.
Measured at Nakusp, 14 km north: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 117 frosts and 112 warm days a year
The frost season runs October to April, peaking in December at about 26 nights. About 21 days a year top 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 447 mm of rain and snow a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
ECCC’s Nakusp normals leave precipitation out; the figures here come from Vernon, 105 km away.
Heating a home in Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. A house here needs less heating than 87% of Canadian towns.
Living with Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 2 days a year here.
Summer brings about 31 days when the humidex passes 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Nakusp
The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Nakusp, one of its 450 normals locations.
| Distance from the town | 14 km north |
| Station altitude | 512 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Vernon, 105 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −20.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 40.4°C |
| Average wind | 4.4 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Nelson, 83 km |
How Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay 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
Places around Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest places to Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay with figures are 57–79 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay Nakusp | 27.4°C | −3.8°C | 447 mm |
| Electoral Area E, North Okanagan 57 km · Vernon | 28.4°C 1.0°C warmer | −6.4°C 2.6°C colder | 447 mm |
| Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay 63 km · Nelson | 28.5°C 1.1°C warmer | −2.9°C 0.9°C milder | 759 mm |
Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.6°C | −3.8°C | −1.7°C | 37 mm |
| February | 3.2°C | −3.5°C | −0.2°C | 25 mm |
| March | 8.2°C | −1.1°C | 3.6°C | 25 mm |
| April | 13.9°C | 2.0°C | 8.0°C | 26 mm |
| May | 20.1°C | 6.2°C | 13.2°C | 45 mm |
| June | 23.4°C | 10.0°C | 16.8°C | 55 mm |
| July | 27.4°C | 12.3°C | 20.0°C | 37 mm |
| August | 26.5°C | 11.8°C | 19.2°C | 30 mm |
| September | 20.2°C | 8.0°C | 14.1°C | 34 mm |
| October | 11.6°C | 3.5°C | 7.5°C | 41 mm |
| November | 4.8°C | −0.1°C | 2.4°C | 49 mm |
| December | 0.5°C | −3.5°C | −1.5°C | 44 mm |
| Year | 13.4°C | 3.5°C | 8.5°C | 447 mm |
The most changeable month: February, give or take 2.2°C; the steadiest, October
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; September’s run from −2.1°C in 2000 to 36.9°C in 1998.
Where Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Nakusp, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: snow, with no complete snowfall normals within 100 km, sunshine, which ECCC published for no location, and any height adjustment.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay’s climate
How warm does Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 27.4°C on a typical day.
How cold does Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay get in winter?
Lows sink to −3.8°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay get?
Around 447 mm a year in all, from 55 mm in June down to 25 mm in March.
Are these figures for Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay itself?
Yes: they are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Nakusp, a location inside Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area K, Central Kootenay →
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).