Photo: Quinn Desilets · CC BY-SA 4.0Hardly any Canadian towns see hotter July days than Nelson
On a normal January night the air cools to about −2.9°C. Winter and summer sit 32°C apart. In January, nights here are milder than in 94% of Canadian towns. Heating does most of its work from October to April, in months below 10°C on average.
Measured at Nelson, 1.7 km west: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Nelson at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Nelson’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Nelson feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
100 frost days and 120 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from October to April, most of all in December (about 23 nights). Heat of 30°C or more comes on about 27 days a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 759 mm of rain and snow a year
December is the wettest month and August the driest. Some 122 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
ECCC’s Nelson normals leave precipitation out; the figures here come from Warfield, 55 km away.
About 151 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from October to April, most of all in December (about 47 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snowfall: Creston, 71 km away (Nelson records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Nelson
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. By this count, homes here need less heating than 88% of Canadian towns.
Living with Nelson’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun and Sep.
Parks & trails →About 2 days a year bring a wind chill under −20, when bare skin chills fast.
Roughly 38 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
Thirty-year normals hide the storms and the extremes: the hazards page has Nelson’s risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Nelson
Nelson is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 1.7 km west |
| Station altitude | 535 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Warfield, 55 km |
| Snowfall from | Creston, 71 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −19.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 39.7°C |
| Average wind | 8.1 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Warfield, 55 km |
How Nelson compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Nelson whose figures come from another normals location. The one place listed is 34 km from Nelson, the nearest with figures.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 28.5°C | −2.9°C | 759 mm |
| Electoral Area J, Central Kootenay 34 km · Warfield | 29.3°C 0.8°C warmer | −4.0°C 1.1°C colder | 759 mm |
Nelson 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 | 1.4°C | −2.9°C | −0.7°C | 93 mm | 45 cm |
| February | 4.1°C | −2.9°C | 0.6°C | 62 mm | 21 cm |
| March | 8.9°C | −0.2°C | 4.4°C | 61 mm | 12 cm |
| April | 14.5°C | 2.7°C | 8.6°C | 54 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 20.1°C | 6.5°C | 13.3°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22.9°C | 9.8°C | 16.4°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 28.5°C | 12.7°C | 20.7°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28.1°C | 12.6°C | 20.4°C | 25 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.9°C | 8.8°C | 15.4°C | 32 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.1°C | 3.9°C | 8.5°C | 62 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 5.5°C | 0.3°C | 2.9°C | 86 mm | 23 cm |
| December | 1.0°C | −3.0°C | −1.0°C | 98 mm | 47 cm |
| Year | 14.2°C | 4.0°C | 9.1°C | 759 mm | 151 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 1.9°C; April the least
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than September, between −1.1°C (2000) and 35.8°C (2017).
Where Nelson’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Nelson, 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: 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, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Nelson’s climate
How warm does Nelson get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 28.5°C.
How cold does Nelson get in winter?
Of all twelve months, December has the coldest nights, about −3.0°C.
How much rain and snow does Nelson get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 759 mm a year; December leads with 98 mm and August trails with 25 mm.
Are these figures for Nelson itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Nelson itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Nelson →
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).