Photo: Kevstan · CC BY-SA 3.0Nakusp has warmer summer afternoons than 95% of Canadian towns
On a normal January night the air cools to about −3.8°C. In January, nights here are milder than in 93% of Canadian towns. Of all months, June brings the most precipitation and March the least. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 117 days a year at 0°C or below.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Nakusp (3.4 km north).
A year in Nakusp at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Nakusp’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Nakusp feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
117 frost days and 112 days above 20°C a year
Frosts fall from October to April; December has the most, about 26. Some 21 days a year climb past 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 447 mm a year
On about 97 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Nakusp publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Vernon, 107 km away.
Heating a home in Nakusp
90% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. By this count, homes here need less heating than 87% of Canadian towns.
Living with Nakusp’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Expect around 2 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
Plan shade and water for about 31 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
Bad-weather days, from blizzards to floods, get their own page for Nakusp: the hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Nakusp
Every temperature, frost, snow and degree-day figure on this page is the 1991–2020 normal ECCC publishes for Nakusp.
| Distance from the town | 3.4 km north |
| Station altitude | 512 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Vernon, 107 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 | Revelstoke, 85 km |
How Nakusp compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Nakusp whose figures come from another normals location. Nakusp has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 59–78 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nakusp | 27.4°C | −3.8°C | 447 mm |
| Electoral Area E, North Okanagan 59 km · Vernon | 28.4°C 1.0°C warmer | −6.4°C 2.6°C colder | 447 mm |
| Electoral Area H, Central Kootenay 72 km · Nelson | 28.5°C 1.1°C warmer | −2.9°C 0.9°C milder | 759 mm |
Nakusp weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| 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 |
From −2.1°C to 36.9°C: September’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 2.2°C around its normal of −0.2°C, the widest of any month, while October’s shifts by 1.0°C.
Where Nakusp’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Nakusp, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Nakusp’s climate
How warm does Nakusp get in summer?
On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 27.4°C, the warmest of the year.
How cold does Nakusp get in winter?
Expect nights around −3.8°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Nakusp get?
Rain and snow add up to about 447 mm of water a year; June brings the most (55 mm), March the least (25 mm).
Are these figures for Nakusp itself?
They are the normals for Nakusp, measured just outside Nakusp itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Nakusp →
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).