Sunshine Coast Weather

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Photo by PhotographyTips.com

SPRING:
Things really pick up in the spring. The cherry trees start to bloom while the rest of the country is still weathering the storm - mid-March or so. Spring generally means a mix of warm, sunny and rainy days, and it usually lasts into June.

Temperatures average in the low to mid-teens for much of the spring season (that's in Celsius for those of you not on the metric system, shivering in horror) - at a time when most of the rest of Canada is writhing in frozen agony!

May and June are beautiful, with an average of 240 sunny hours per month. The spring weather is ideal for kayaking, sailing and golfing, and... oh, heck, it's great for almost everything but stripping down to the swim trunks at the beach (and some hardy souls even go that far).

Now, we hear all the time about people from places like Dallas or Miami looking up our temperatures and getting Celsius readings, and either they don't know it's not in Fahrenheit, or they can't make the proper conversion. THIS IS NOT AN URBAN MYTH, these people have been pictured on television! So - these poor souls stumble off the plane in Vancouver buried under layers of wool and Goretex in the middle of July and are completely at a loss to explain why everyone else is in tank tops and shorts and slathered up in sunscreen. Just so you can avoid that particular pitfall, we've included a handy tool here for converting the temperature for those not on the metric system.
Tip: You'll need javascript enabled to use this tool.

 

Hydrangea in bloom in a summer garden
Mike Hovden photo

SUMMER:
In July and August ice cream vendors do brisk business and the beaches are full. It gets very hot and seldom rains. Welcome to summer! It can be humid as we are at sea level and at the edge of the ocean, but our region is not prone to the heavy summer storms of much of the rest of the continent. Sometimes in the summer months you can be treated to blanket lightning - it sparks and crackles, but doesn't come to ground or come accompanied by booming thunder.
We are also blessed here by not having to deal with hordes of insects in the late evenings - there can be a lot of noseeums (minuscule biting insects that can penetrate almost any screen) at dusk, but it's only for a short period in the day. Though we have mosquitos - and in the bush, deer flies - they are not huge and are relatively easy to deal with.
Temperatures can reach as high as 29 degrees, although that much heat is rare and not really welcomed with the humidity. August can fluctuate wildly for wind - either full northwesterly gale force winds or baking doldrums, so the summer months are not the best for sailing (or kayaking/canoeing when it's on the windy side). In the summer you'll find oodles of places to rent marine gear and equipment, with both the saltchuck and numerous lakes to tempt you. Fishing can be good in the morning and evenings.

FALL:
Just like the spring months, fall can be quite wonderful on the Sunshine Coast and is often overlooked as a vacation time in favour of the sticky heat of the summer months. We have been known to wear shorts and tank tops into late October/early November, and the nights are cool enough that bugs become less and less of a problem after early September.
Gardening is a big deal on the Coast because of our exceptionally long growing season, and farmers markets carry on into October in several communities. The dahlia farm in Selma Park is a great stop in late August/early September, and there's some unusual topiary to discover as well on travels through the region.
Sailing, golf, kayaking, mountain biking and hunting (among other recreational activities) are excellent this time of year, and walks in local parks are fabulous with all the turning leaves and fresh crisp mornings. Photography is also an excellent pastime in the fall - in between the summer's haze and early winter's fogs are some incredible images waiting to be captured.

WINTER:
The Sunshine Coast, they say, is so named because it's sunnier than Vancouver. Granted, during the winter months, that's not saying much. This is the west coast and it rains. A lot. See those mountains over there? Blame them. We think of our winter rain as down payment on the great return for the rest of the year's weather, so you won't find us complaining about it. Puddle-jumping is a wonderful pastime and comes highly recommended.
The rains generally start in November and last until March. It does occasionally snow during the winter, which causes the entire Coast to shut down and stay inside because we don't have the necessary snow-clearing equipment or even snow tires. But don't let that warning scare you - many cyclists and motorcyclists ride almost year round, so you've got to know serious winter weather is rare.
Winters are mild and temperatures don't get much below zero. If they do, they don't stay there long. But, as granny used to say, it's a different kind of cold - not the nice dry cold of the prairies, but a damp cold that seeps into you - so you'll want to dress accordingly. Layers are an effective defense against what passes as Sunshine Coast cold.
Ferry service is not often cancelled during winter storms, although sailings can be behind schedule. Howe Sound has a much gentler reaction to the weather than the Georgia Strait, where the Nanaimo ferry is very occasionally forced to stay in port.