Photo: Blake Handley from Victoria, Canada · CC BY 2.0Few Canadian towns have milder winter nights than North Cowichan
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 22.7°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 94% of Canadian towns. The wettest month is January; the driest is July. Homes need heating from November to April, the months averaging under 10°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location to North Cowichan is Victoria (Airport), 27 km south-east, and every figure on this page is its.
A year in North Cowichan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about North Cowichan’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in North Cowichan feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
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
Snowfall: about 39 cm in a normal 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 North Cowichan
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: November to April.
A heating degree day is one degree of shortfall below 18°C for one day, summed over the year. By this count, homes here need less heating than 95% of Canadian towns.
Living with North Cowichan’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Between the last frost, near 4 April, and the first, near 4 November, lie about 213 frost-free days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →About 6 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to North Cowichan’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Victoria (Airport)
ECCC builds the Victoria (Airport) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 27 km south-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 | Saturna CAPMON, 42 km |
How North Cowichan 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 North Cowichan whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 26–43 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from North Cowichan.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Cowichan Victoria (Airport) | 22.7°C | 1.6°C | 901 mm |
| Electoral Area H, Cowichan Valley 26 km · Vancouver International (Airport) | 22.4°C about the same | 1.4°C about the same | 1,160 mm |
| Southern Gulf Islands 30 km · Saturna CAPMON | 21.6°C 1.1°C cooler | 2.3°C 0.7°C milder | 802 mm |
| Langford 43 km · Victoria Gonzales (City) | 20.6°C 2.1°C cooler | 3.8°C 2.2°C milder | 675 mm |
North Cowichan 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 |
June: 2.1°C at its coldest, 33.5°C at its warmest
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 1.5°C around its normal of 5.0°C, the widest of any month, while August’s shifts by 0.7°C.
Where North Cowichan’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Victoria (Airport), the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: the towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ across Canada, each on its nearest normals location, without the city totals or the reserves.
- 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 North Cowichan’s climate
How warm does North Cowichan get in summer?
Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 22.7°C on a typical day.
How cold does North Cowichan get in winter?
A typical February night falls to 1.4°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does North Cowichan get?
Rain and snow add up to about 901 mm of water a year; January brings the most (155 mm), July the least (20 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
The ground is white, with 1 cm or more, on some 8 days a year.
Are these figures for North Cowichan itself?
Not as such: Victoria (Airport) is the nearest normals location, and North Cowichan has none.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for North Cowichan →
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).