Welcome to Vancouver! I hope you brought an umbrella!
While Canada is known for its long, cold winters and lots of snow, Vancouver is not. We do not get a lot of snow, unless you are on top of a mountain. However, it does rain. A lot. Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, an umbrella or rain coat is a very important thing to have! Here are some things to expect of the weather when you come to Vancouver.
Be sure to have a rain coat and good shoes for when it rains. If you don’t, you will get very wet! Even in the summer, people in Vancouver are known to carry an umbrella, just in case.
When it rains, it rains a lot. It is common for it to rain all day in Vancouver. Sometimes, it rains for a week. Even if you come to Vancouver in the summer time, expect rain.
It rains the most in the Fall and Winter. From October to January, expect around 15 or more days of rain per month. In Summer, from May to September, it is good to expect at least 5 days of rain per month. This can be depressing, but there are a lot of things to do around Vancouver even in the rain!
If you plan on doing outdoor activities like hiking when it has been raining a lot, make sure to find out where you are going is open. Sometimes mountain trails close because of rain. If they are still open, be sure to wear boots to protect your feet from mud.
Because it rains a lot, Vancouver does not get as cold as the rest of Canada. Usually, in Winter, the temperature does not go below 0ºC, but it is still important to have a scarf, or gloves. A warm coat is still important for Vancouver winters. In the Summer, it is usually around 20ºC, but sometimes it goes up to 25-28ºC. Perfect weather for sandals and shorts!
Right now in May, expect rain as well as sunshine. It is starting to warm up, but it is still important to have a coat. It is starting to rain less, but there may be more rain than you expect so it is a good idea to see what the weather will be like online.
While it may be sad to see only clouds, remember: the beautiful forests and mountains around Vancouver would not be as beautiful without all the rain.
We know you will enjoy your time in Vancouver even if the weather is wet!