Hardly any Canadian towns wake to less frost than Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
Expect July afternoons of about 22.4°C. The wettest month is November; the driest is July. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 96% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 137 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for Electoral Area A, Nanaimo come from Vancouver International (Airport), 50 km east, so take them as the area’s climate.
A year in Electoral Area A, Nanaimo at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’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 A, Nanaimo feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 40 frosts and 79 warm days a year
Frosts fall from November to March; January has the most, about 10.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,160 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 37 cm in a normal year
Expect snow from November to March, with about 14 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 Electoral Area A, Nanaimo
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. Homes here need less heating than 97% of Canadian towns.
Living with Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Wait until about 19 March to plant out; frost tends to come back around 10 November, about 235 days later.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Roughly 6 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Vancouver International (Airport)
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Vancouver International (Airport) are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 50 km east |
| Station altitude | 4 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −15.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.4°C |
| Average wind | 13.0 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Vancouver (Harbour), 58 km |
How Electoral Area A, Nanaimo 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s would only repeat its figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area A, Nanaimo Vancouver International (Airport) | 22.4°C | 1.4°C | 1,160 mm |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley 8.3 km · Vancouver International (Airport) | 22.4°C about the same | 1.4°C about the same | 1,160 mm |
| Ladysmith 13 km · Victoria (Airport) | 22.7°C about the same | 1.6°C about the same | 901 mm |
Electoral Area A, Nanaimo weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.8°C | 1.4°C | 4.1°C | 174 mm | 12 cm |
| February | 7.9°C | 1.5°C | 4.7°C | 91 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 10.1°C | 3.3°C | 6.7°C | 106 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 13.1°C | 5.7°C | 9.4°C | 86 mm | under 1 cm |
| May | 16.9°C | 9.0°C | 13.0°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 19.6°C | 11.9°C | 15.8°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.4°C | 13.9°C | 18.2°C | 34 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.4°C | 14.0°C | 18.2°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.1°C | 11.2°C | 15.2°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.5°C | 7.0°C | 10.3°C | 124 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 9.3°C | 3.6°C | 6.4°C | 175 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 6.6°C | 1.2°C | 3.9°C | 172 mm | 14 cm |
| Year | 14.0°C | 7.0°C | 10.5°C | 1,160 mm | 37 cm |
In December, anything from −15.2°C to 14.3°C
Two years in three, January’s average falls within 1.7°C of its normal of 4.1°C; August keeps to within 0.7°C.
Where Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Vancouver International (Airport): the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- 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: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Electoral Area A, Nanaimo’s climate
How warm does Electoral Area A, Nanaimo get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 22.4°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Electoral Area A, Nanaimo get in winter?
Expect nights around 1.2°C in December; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Electoral Area A, Nanaimo get?
Count on roughly 1,160 mm a year, heaviest in November (175 mm) and lightest in July (34 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Snow covers the ground, 1 cm or more, on about 8 days a year.
Are these figures for Electoral Area A, Nanaimo itself?
Not really: Vancouver International (Airport), the closest location with normals, lies well away from Electoral Area A, Nanaimo.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area A, Nanaimo →
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).