Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domain

Climate in Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Few Canadian towns get less rain and snow than Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen: 355 mm a year

Expect July afternoons of about 27.3°C. A year here swings 36°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. In July, afternoons here are warmer than in 91% of Canadian towns. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 76 days a year with 1 mm or more.

July afternoons: warmer than 91% of Canadian towns

January nights: milder than 73% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year: drier than almost every Canadian town

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Princeton, 19 km south.

July high

27.3°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−9.1°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

355 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

125 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

177

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

116

21 May to 15 Sep

A year in Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−2°C−9°CColdest nights

Feb2°C−8°C

Mar9°C−4°C

Apr14°C0°C

May19°C4°CLast frost ~21 May

Jun22°C7°C

Jul27°C10°CWarmest

Aug27°C9°C

Sep22°C5°CFirst frost ~15 Sep

Oct13°C0°C

Nov now4°C−4°CWettest

Dec−2°C−9°CSnowiest

What stands out about Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.

Drier than almost every Canadian townAbout 355 mm of rain and melted snow a year; November is the wettest month and April the driest.Warmer than 91% of Canadian townsJuly afternoons average 27.3°C, the warmest of the year.Milder than 73% of Canadian townsJanuary nights average −9.1°C, the coldest of the year.

A normal year

What a year in Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen feels like

Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.

Winter

0°C / −8°C

97 mm, with 87 cm of snow

Spring

14°C / 0°C

68 mm, with 17 cm of snow

Summer

26°C / 9°C

86 mm of rain and snow

Autumn

13°C / 1°C

103 mm, with 22 cm of snow: the wettest season

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

−2°C−9°C

2°C−8°C

9°C−4°C

14°C0°C

19°C4°C

22°C7°C

27°C10°C

27°C9°C

22°C5°C

13°C0°C

4°C−4°C

−2°C−9°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideNo month has highs of 17°C or more with nights of 8°C or more: summers here are cool.

Frost & warm days

177 frost days and 111 days above 20°C a year

The frost season runs September to May, and December freezes nearly every night. On about 6 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.

116 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

21 May 15 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

177

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 62% of Canadian towns

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

111

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

355 mm of precipitation in a typical year

November brings the most rain and snow; April, the least.

355 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than almost every Canadian town

241 mm

Of it as rain alone (68%)

44 mm

November, the wettest month

18 mm

April, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

44 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

38 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

125 cm of snow in a typical year

Expect snow from October to April, with about 37 cm in December, the snowiest month.

125 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than 67% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

110

Days a year with 1 cm or more on the ground

29 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of January, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

37 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

29 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen

88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.

4,250 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,755 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

A heating degree day is one degree of shortfall below 18°C for one day, summed over the year. Over a year, a home here needs less heating than 66% of Canadian towns.

Living here

Living with Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s climate

What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.

The garden window

Between the last frost, near 21 May, and the first, near 15 September, lie about 116 frost-free days.

Get outside

Summer nights stay cool here: no month pairs 17–27°C afternoons with 8°C nights.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

Expect around 6 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.

Humidex

Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 29 days a year.

Storms and extremes

Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s hazards page covers them.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Princeton

Princeton is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.

Distance from the town	19 km south
Station altitude	702 m
Completeness	meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule
WMO standard normals	No
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−35.5°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	39.3°C
Average wind	3.9 km/h on average, most often from the west
Next-nearest location	Penticton, 63 km

Compared with other towns

How Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen 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.

July afternoons27.3°C

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-SimilkameenMedian Canadian town

14°C18°C22°C26°C30°C

Warmer than 91% of Canadian towns

January nights−9.1°C

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-SimilkameenMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C−5°C0°C5°C

Milder than 73% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year355 mm

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-SimilkameenMedian Canadian town

01,0002,0003,000

Drier than almost every Canadian town

Snowfall a year125 cm

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-SimilkameenMedian Canadian town

0100200300400500

Less snowy than 67% of Canadian towns

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 52–59 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen Princeton	27.3°C	−9.1°C	355 mm
Peachland 52 km · Kelowna	28.5°C 1.2°C warmer	−5.9°C 3.2°C milder	344 mm
Summerland 54 km · Penticton	29.2°C 1.9°C warmer	−3.2°C 5.9°C milder	344 mm
Merritt 59 km · Lytton	29.5°C 2.2°C warmer	−4.1°C 5.0°C milder	273 mm

Month by month

Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen weather by month

Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.

Month	High	Low	Mean	Rain & snow	Snow
January	−1.7°C	−9.1°C	−5.4°C	35 mm	34 cm
February	2.4°C	−7.6°C	−2.6°C	23 mm	17 cm
March	8.6°C	−3.9°C	2.4°C	19 mm	13 cm
April	14.2°C	−0.4°C	6.9°C	18 mm	3 cm
May	19.4°C	3.7°C	11.6°C	31 mm	1 cm
June	22.3°C	7.3°C	14.8°C	39 mm	0 cm
July	27.3°C	9.7°C	18.5°C	25 mm	0 cm
August	27.3°C	9.1°C	18.2°C	22 mm	0 cm
September	22.0°C	5.2°C	13.6°C	26 mm	0 cm
October	12.9°C	0.4°C	6.7°C	33 mm	3 cm
November	3.7°C	−4.0°C	−0.2°C	44 mm	19 cm
December	−1.8°C	−8.5°C	−5.1°C	38 mm	37 cm
Year	13.1°C	0.2°C	6.6°C	355 mm	125 cm

Year to year

A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 2.8°C; the steadiest month is August

Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. March spans the most, from −26.8°C (2009) to 23.5°C (1994).

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

50°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Princeton, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
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 H, Okanagan-Similkameen’s climate

How warm does Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen get in summer?

On a normal day in July the thermometer climbs to 27.3°C, the warmest of the year.

How cold does Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen get in winter?

Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −9.1°C.

How much rain and snow does Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen get?

Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 355 mm a year; November leads with 44 mm and April trails with 18 mm.

How long does snow stay on the ground?

A layer of at least 1 cm stays down on about 110 days a year.

Are these figures for Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen itself?

The figures are ECCC’s for Princeton; Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen has no normals station.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area H, Okanagan-Similkameen →

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).