Photo: Kiwibirdman · CC BY 3.0Highlands sits near the top of Canadian towns for mild winters
July afternoons average 22.7°C. Precipitation peaks in January and eases off in July. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 94% of Canadian towns. Heating does most of its work from November to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Highlands has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Victoria (Airport), 14 km north-east.
A year in Highlands at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Highlands’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Highlands feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 45 frosts and 83 warm days a year
The frost season runs November to April, peaking in January at about 10 nights.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 901 mm of rain and snow a year
Some 119 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 39 cm of snow a year
Expect snow from November to March, with about 12 cm in December, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Highlands
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
Warm days count for nothing; each colder day adds how far its mean sits below 18°C. Homes here need less heating than 95% of Canadian towns.
Living with Highlands’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Gardens get from about 4 April to 4 November without frost, around 213 days in all.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 6 days a year.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Highlands’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Victoria (Airport)
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Victoria (Airport) are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 14 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 20 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −10.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.3°C |
| Average wind | 9.7 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Victoria (University), 18 km |
How Highlands 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 Highlands’s would only repeat its figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highlands Victoria (Airport) | 22.7°C | 1.6°C | 901 mm |
| Central Saanich 7.5 km · Victoria (Airport) | 22.7°C about the same | 1.6°C about the same | 901 mm |
| Langford 9.8 km · Victoria Gonzales (City) | 20.6°C 2.1°C cooler | 3.8°C 2.2°C milder | 675 mm |
Highlands 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 | 7.5°C | 1.6°C | 4.6°C | 155 mm | 11 cm |
| February | 8.7°C | 1.4°C | 5.0°C | 85 mm | 7 cm |
| March | 10.8°C | 2.7°C | 6.8°C | 80 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 13.7°C | 4.6°C | 9.1°C | 48 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 17.5°C | 7.6°C | 12.6°C | 37 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 20.2°C | 10.1°C | 15.2°C | 29 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.7°C | 11.7°C | 17.2°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.6°C | 11.6°C | 17.1°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.7°C | 9.2°C | 14.5°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 14.3°C | 6.0°C | 10.2°C | 96 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 9.9°C | 3.0°C | 6.5°C | 146 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 7.3°C | 1.5°C | 4.4°C | 146 mm | 12 cm |
| Year | 14.6°C | 5.9°C | 10.3°C | 901 mm | 39 cm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 1.5°C; the steadiest month is August
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. June spans the most, from 2.1°C (1991) to 33.5°C (2003).
Where Highlands’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Victoria (Airport), its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- 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 Highlands’s climate
How warm does Highlands get in summer?
Expect highs near 22.7°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Highlands get in winter?
The coldest nights come in February, averaging 1.4°C.
How much rain and snow does Highlands get?
901 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is January (155 mm); the driest, July (20 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Around 8 days a year see 1 cm of snow or more lying.
Are these figures for Highlands itself?
They come from Victoria (Airport), which ECCC uses as the nearest normals location for Highlands.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Highlands →
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).