Vancouver weather by month & the best time to visit
🇨🇦 Canada · major city break · Mediterranean climate
The best time to visit Vancouver is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 84/100), with August and June close behind. Vancouver averages about 1,739 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 22°C / 72°F and roughly 26 mm of rain in July.
Jump to: month-by-month table · sea temperature · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 1,739
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 84/100
- Rain / year
- 1,285 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈14 cm
- Midday UV at peak
- 6 (high)
- Sea at warmest
- 20°C / 68°F
- Population
- 2.3M
- Elevation
- Sea level
When is the best time to visit Vancouver?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Vancouver is July, then August and June. The dullest month is January (0/100, 194 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Vancouver?
Vancouver isn't a sunny place by world standards: about 1,739 hours of sunshine a year. 84 Sunshine Score points separate July (84) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #211 of 242 destinations in Canada for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,024 hours. Rain has a clear season: the wettest stretch, around December, carries about 45% of the annual 1,285 mm.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 6° / 43°F | 3° / 37°F | 194 mm | 0 | 6° / 43°F |
| February | 0 | 7° / 45°F | 3° / 37°F | 103 mm | 1 | 7° / 45°F |
| March | 5 | 9° / 48°F | 5° / 41°F | 142 mm | 2 | 8° / 46°F |
| April | 24 | 12° / 54°F | 7° / 45°F | 87 mm | 3 | 10° / 50°F |
| May | 52 | 16° / 61°F | 10° / 50°F | 60 mm | 5 | 13° / 55°F |
| June | 74 | 19° / 66°F | 13° / 55°F | 46 mm | 5 | 16° / 61°F |
| July | 84 | 22° / 72°F | 15° / 59°F | 26 mm | 6 | 20° / 68°F |
| August | 83 | 22° / 72°F | 15° / 59°F | 33 mm | 5 | 20° / 68°F |
| September | 63 | 18° / 64°F | 13° / 55°F | 71 mm | 4 | 18° / 64°F |
| October | 26 | 13° / 55°F | 9° / 48°F | 140 mm | 2 | 13° / 55°F |
| November | 5 | 9° / 48°F | 6° / 43°F | 206 mm | 1 | 9° / 48°F |
| December | 0 | 6° / 43°F | 3° / 37°F | 177 mm | 0 | 8° / 46°F |
Sea temperature in Vancouver by month
The sea off Vancouver is warmest in July at around 20°C / 68°F, and coolest in January at 6°C / 43°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Vancouver on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Nanaimo Canada · 52 km · best in Jul · 1,738 h sun/yr
- Abbotsford Canada · 63 km · best in Jul · 1,738 h sun/yr
- Victoria (British Columbia) Canada · 63 km · best in Jul · 2,004 h sun/yr
- Bellingham United States · 65 km · best in Jul · 2,005 h sun/yr
- Seattle United States · 205 km · best in Jul · 1,896 h sun/yr
- Kelowna Canada · 287 km · best in Aug · 2,222 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Eastsound United States · 58 km · 2,004 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Roche Harbor United States · 65 km · 2,004 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Vancouver compares month by month: Vancouver vs Victoria (British Columbia) · Vancouver vs Abbotsford · Vancouver vs Kelowna · Vancouver vs Nanaimo · all comparisons
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