Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainHardly any Canadian towns collect less precipitation than Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola: 273 mm a year
In January the night’s low is typically −5.7°C. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 35°C. Its July heat outdoes that of almost every Canadian town. Homes need heating from October to April, the months averaging under 10°C.
ECCC publishes no normals for Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola itself; the figures are those of Kamloops, 42 km west.
A year in Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola’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 L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 116 days, 20°C on 135
Frosts fall from October to April; December has the most, about 26. Some 36 days a year climb past 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 273 mm of rain and snow a year
The most falls in June, the least in February. 252nd wettest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia. On about 62 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 63 cm in a normal year
From November to March snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 20 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Degree days add up how far each day’s mean temperature falls below 18°C over a year. That means homes here need less heating than 92% of Canadian towns.
Living with Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Seedlings can go out once the average last frost, around 25 April, has passed; autumn’s first, near 12 October, ends a season of about 170 days.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in May, Jun and Sep.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 9 days in a normal year.
The humidex tops 30 on about 37 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Kamloops
ECCC builds the Kamloops normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 42 km west |
| Station altitude | 345 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −28.6°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 40.4°C |
| Average wind | 10.7 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Salmon Arm, 45 km |
How Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola 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 Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 25–49 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola Kamloops | 29.3°C | −5.7°C | 273 mm |
| Chase 25 km · Salmon Arm | 28.3°C 1.0°C cooler | −5.6°C about the same | 654 mm |
| Okanagan (Part) 1 49 km · Vernon | 28.4°C 0.9°C cooler | −6.4°C 0.7°C colder | 447 mm |
Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0.4°C | −5.7°C | −2.7°C | 22 mm | 19 cm |
| February | 3.9°C | −4.3°C | −0.2°C | 12 mm | 8 cm |
| March | 10.7°C | −0.5°C | 5.2°C | 15 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 16.5°C | 3.2°C | 9.9°C | 13 mm | under 1 cm |
| May | 22.0°C | 8.1°C | 15.0°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 25.1°C | 11.6°C | 18.4°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 29.3°C | 14.5°C | 21.9°C | 30 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28.8°C | 13.7°C | 21.3°C | 19 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22.8°C | 9.2°C | 16.0°C | 24 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.6°C | 3.5°C | 8.6°C | 23 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 5.8°C | −1.1°C | 2.3°C | 26 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 1.0°C | −5.0°C | −2.0°C | 26 mm | 20 cm |
| Year | 15.0°C | 3.9°C | 9.5°C | 273 mm | 63 cm |
The month with the widest range: November, −24.9°C to 21.3°C
January is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 3.2°C of the normal, −2.7°C. April is the steadiest, within 1.2°C.
Where Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Kamloops from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- 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 Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola’s climate
How warm does Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 29.3°C.
How cold does Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −5.7°C.
How much rain and snow does Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 273 mm; the range runs from 12 mm in February to 36 mm in June.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 48 days a year.
Are these figures for Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola itself?
Not quite: they come from Kamloops, the closest ECCC normals location to Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Electoral Area L (Grasslands), Thompson-Nicola →
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).