BC Climate

BC has climate regimes that vary with its marine to continental areas. The provinces climate is controlled by its mountainous topography, its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, prevailing westerly winds, and the province’s high latitude. Moist Pacific air is often forced over mountain barriers, resulting in heavy precipitation on western slopes and drier areas that lie within the rain shadow of the province’s mountain ranges to the east. This climate pattern is true especially in the winter months. When the province encounters cold, dry air from the northern arctic, which leaves much of the interior under heavy snow until the return of milder Pacific air masses. In the summer, however, a persistent area of high pressure off the coast results in fewer frontal systems moving across the province.

Climate regimes in BCThe province’s topography creates five regions that are characterized by distinct climate patterns. These regions include the Coast Mountains and the Islands; the Interior Plateau; the Columbia Mountains and Southern Rockies; the Northern and Central Plateau and Mountains; and the Great Plains.

The Coast Mountains have heavy precipitation, mild winters and relatively cool summers. In this region, there are fewer hours of sunshine and very little freezing, although higher elevations usually get heavy snowpacks due to the high amount of precipitation. The areas leeward of Vancouver Island’s mountains and the Olympic Mountains in Washington are markedly drier and sunnier due to rain shadow.

As the Coast Mountains act as a barrier for the westerly flow of moist air from the Pacific, the Interior Plateau has a much drier and more continental climate, and seasonal temperature differences are much greater. Precipitation, however, is more evenly distributed year round.

Areas in the Columbia Mountains and Southern Rockies in the east and southeast of BC have very different climates. Within the valley bottoms, there are very warm summers and cold winters, while on the mountain slopes, much higher precipitation and lower temperatures exist.

The Northern and Central Plateau and Mountains have comparatively very cold winters and cooler summers. With the southern movement of continental arctic air, winters are cold and dry, summers are short and cool, and precipitation is even throughout the year.



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