Climate - Vancouver (Washington)

The climate of Vancouver can be defined as oceanic with Mediterranean influences. In fact, winter is mild enough, but not as in the Mediterranean climate, and rainfall is frequent for many months a year, but summer is warm to hot and sunny, albeit with quite cool nights.
The city is located in Washington State, 100 km (60 mi) away from the Pacific coast, on the banks of the Columbia River, beyond which lies the city of Portland, in the state of Oregon. We are in the northwest of the United States.
In winter, fog can form at night and in the early morning. On the coldest nights of the year, the temperature typically drops to -7/-8 °C (18/19 °F), but sometimes it can drop even below. In 1989, in nearby Portland airport, the temperature went down to -13 °C (8.5 °F), and back in 1950, to as low as -19 °C (-2 °F). Snow is rare, although a heavier snowfall than usual can occasionally occur. On average, 10 cm (4 in) of snow fall per year.
In summer, there are strong temperature variations between night and day. On the hottest days of the year, the temperature typically reaches 37/38 °C (99/100 °F). In August 2017, it reached 40.5 °C (105 °F).
Not far from Vancouver there are two volcanoes: 75 km (45 mi) to the north-east, in Washington State, is Mount St. Helens, 2,549 meters (8,363 feet) high and famous for the eruption of 1980, while 75 km (45 mi) to the southeast is Mount Hood, which is the highest peak in Oregon with its 3,425 meters (11,237 ft).
The average temperature of the coldest month (December) is of 4.1 °C (39 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 19.5 °C (67 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 930 millimeters (36.6 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. Here too, as in Seattle, excluding the summer, there may be several consecutive days characterized by continuous drizzle. Rainfall ranges from from 20 mm (0.8 in) in the driest months (July, August) to 155 mm (6.1 in) in the wettest (November). Here is the average precipitation.

On average, there are around 2,340 sunshine hours per year. The sun shines 23% of the time in December and 70% of the time in July (in Seattle, a bit further to the north, the average goes from 20% in December to 65% in July). Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Best Time

The best time in Vancouver is from mid-May to late September. The driest and sunniest period is generally from mid-June to early September, but it can sometimes get very hot, especially in July and August. You can therefore go from mid-May to mid-June and in the month of September.

Back to the climate of Washington state.