Photo: Sidney Museum · CC BY-SA 3.0Sidney sits near the top of Canadian towns for mild winters
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out 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.
Sidney has no ECCC normals station of its own: every figure here comes from Victoria (Airport), 1.9 km west.
A year in Sidney at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Sidney’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Sidney feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 45 days, 20°C on 83
Frosts fall from November to April; 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
Rain and melted snow: about 901 mm a year
On about 119 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
39 cm of snow in a typical year
From November to March snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 12 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Sidney
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. In heating terms, homes need less heating than 95% of Canadian towns.
Living with Sidney’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Between the last frost, near 4 April, and the first, near 4 November, lie about 213 frost-free days.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →On some 6 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Sidney’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Victoria (Airport)
Victoria (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 1.9 km west |
| 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 | Victoria (University), 23 km |
How Sidney 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Sidney’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 19–24 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Sidney.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sidney Victoria (Airport) | 22.7°C | 1.6°C | 901 mm |
| Southern Gulf Islands 19 km · Saturna CAPMON | 21.6°C 1.1°C cooler | 2.3°C 0.7°C milder | 802 mm |
| Saanich 20 km · Victoria (University) | 23.7°C 1.0°C warmer | 3.4°C 1.8°C milder | 661 mm |
| View Royal 22 km · Victoria Gonzales (City) | 20.6°C 2.1°C cooler | 3.8°C 2.2°C milder | 675 mm |
Sidney weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and 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 |
In June, anything from 2.1°C to 33.5°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 1.5°C of the normal, 5.0°C. August is the steadiest, within 0.7°C.
Where Sidney’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Victoria (Airport), its nearest location with complete 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 (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 Sidney’s climate
How warm does Sidney get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 22.7°C.
How cold does Sidney get in winter?
Overnight lows average 1.4°C in February, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Sidney get?
Rain and snow, with snow counted as water, total 901 mm a year; January leads with 155 mm and July trails with 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 Sidney itself?
Not exactly. Sidney lacks a normals station, so Victoria (Airport) supplies the figures.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Sidney →
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).