Does it rain a lot in Vancouver?

Yes, by Canadian city standards. Vancouver International Airport averages 1,189 mm of precipitation a year and about 169 days with at least 0.2 mm (Environment and Climate Change Canada normals, 1981 to 2010). But the rain is seasonal: about 72% of it falls from October to March, and July and August average only six or seven wet days each.

How many days a year does it rain in Vancouver?

About 165 days a year bring measurable rain at the airport, and about 169 bring rain or snow. Only about 42 of them bring 10 mm or more, so most wet days are drizzle or passing showers rather than downpours. The North Shore and Burnaby Mountain get considerably more.

What is the wettest month in Vancouver?

November, with a normal of about 189 mm and 20 wet days at the airport. January (168 mm) and December (162 mm) come next. The driest months are July (36 mm) and August (37 mm).

Does it snow in Vancouver?

Occasionally. The airport averages 38 cm of snow a year, falling on about nine days, mostly from December to February, and snow lies on the ground on about nine days a year. The local mountains, Grouse, Cypress and Seymour, get far more.

Which part of Metro Vancouver gets the least rain?

The flat south and west. The airport on Sea Island averages 1,189 mm a year and Richmond Nature Park 1,262 mm. The North Vancouver waterfront gets about 1,725 mm, Simon Fraser University on Burnaby Mountain about 2,010 mm, and Seymour Falls in the North Shore watershed close to 4,000 mm.

Is Vancouver worth visiting in the rainy season?

Yes, if you plan for it. Hotels are usually cheaper than in summer, the local mountains get snow, and most rain is light enough to walk in with a hooded waterproof jacket. Build each day around an indoor anchor such as a museum, market or the aquarium, and keep outdoor plans flexible.

Is It Raining in Vancouver Right Now? Live Weather

Q: When is the rainy season in Vancouver?

October to March. Rain returns in October (about 121 mm over 15 wet days), peaks in November and stays high through January. March is still showery, April and May dry out steadily, and July and August are the dry season.

When the forecast says rain

Swap ridge hikes for indoor anchors.
Seawall only if wind is mild.
Café + museum pairing.
Re-check tomorrow before rebooking outdoors.

Vancouver rain in 30 seconds

The airport averages 1,189 mm of rain and snow a year over about 169 wet days, and 72% of it falls from October to March. July and August get only six or seven wet days each. The North Shore gets far more, close to 4,000 mm in the Seymour watershed. Locals skip umbrellas for a hooded rain shell.

Published 2026-07-13 · Updated 2026-09-29 · Alex

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Data: Open-Meteo (ECMWF / Environment Canada blend). For official forecasts see weather.gc.ca.

Vancouver Rain by Month: What to Expect

Vancouver's reputation for rain is deserved, but it is seasonal. The airport averages 1,189 mm of rain and snow a year over about 169 wet days, and 72% of it falls in the six months from October to March. July and August are genuinely dry, with six or seven wet days each and close to 290 hours of sunshine in July.

Month	Precip.	Wet days	Sun hrs	High
🌧️ Jan	168 mm	20	60	7°C
🌧️ Feb	105 mm	15	91	8°C
🌦️ Mar	114 mm	18	135	10°C
🌦️ Apr	89 mm	15	185	13°C
⛅ May	65 mm	13	223	17°C
⛅ Jun	54 mm	12	227	20°C
☀️ Jul	36 mm	6	290	22°C
☀️ Aug	37 mm	7	277	22°C
⛅ Sep	51 mm	8	213	19°C
🌧️ Oct	121 mm	15	121	14°C
🌧️ Nov	189 mm	20	60	9°C
🌧️ Dec	162 mm	20	56	6°C
Year	1,189 mm	169	1,938	14°C

Normals for Vancouver International Airport (station 1108447), 1981–2010, the latest official normals for the station: Environment and Climate Change Canada (data). Precipitation is rain plus melted snow; a wet day has at least 0.2 mm. Sun hrs = hours of bright sunshine in the month; High = average daily maximum. Wettest and driest months in bold.

When is the rainy season in Vancouver?

The rainy season runs from October to March. Rain returns in October (121 mm over about 15 wet days), November is the wettest month (189 mm, 20 wet days), and December and January stay close behind. March is wetter than many visitors expect: 18 wet days, more than February. April and May dry out steadily, June still has about 12 wet days of mostly light showers, and September is drier than June, with about eight.

Most wet days are light. Only about 42 days a year bring 10 mm or more, and about seven bring 25 mm or more, most of them between October and January. That is why locals plan around the rain rather than cancel: a wet forecast usually means drizzle and showers with dry gaps, not a day-long downpour.

The grey matters as much as the wet. December averages 56 hours of bright sunshine for the whole month, under two hours a day, against about 290 hours in July, and it is dark before 5 p.m. In winter, put outdoor sightseeing in the middle of the day.

Wet street and red traffic lights at Howe Street in downtown Vancouver on a grey day — Howe Street, downtown: a typical grey, wet afternoon.

Umbrellas on West Georgia Street by the Hotel Georgia sign and the green roof of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver — West Georgia Street by the Hotel Georgia.

Choosing when to come? The month-by-month best time to visit Vancouver guide weighs rain against prices and events. For the wet months, see the Vancouver winter guide and things to do in November.

Rain across Metro Vancouver: the airport is the dry end

The airport figures above are the ones usually quoted for Vancouver, but they describe the driest corner of the region. The same Environment Canada normals show how fast the totals climb toward the North Shore mountains:

Station	Elevation	Per year
Vancouver Airport (YVR), Richmond	4 m	1,189 mm
Richmond Nature Park	3 m	1,262 mm
North Vancouver Wharves (waterfront)	7 m	1,725 mm
North Vancouver, Second Narrows	4 m	1,831 mm
Burnaby, Capitol Hill	183 m	1,946 mm
Burnaby, Simon Fraser University	366 m	2,010 mm
North Vancouver, Sonora Drive	183 m	2,356 mm
Seymour Falls (North Shore watershed)	244 m	3,979 mm
Victoria Airport, for comparison	20 m	883 mm

Annual precipitation normals, 1981–2010, from Environment and Climate Change Canada. Apart from the two airports, these stations have 21 to 27 years of data in the 30-year period, so read them as close guides rather than exact figures.

Most Pacific storms arrive from the west and south-west and are pushed up the Coast Mountains, which wring out more rain the further in the air travels. Seymour Falls sits at only 244 m but gets more than three times the airport's total. Sonora Drive in North Vancouver and Capitol Hill in Burnaby are at the same height, yet the North Shore station is about 20% wetter. Victoria, in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, gets about a quarter less than Vancouver's airport.

In practice: when the forecast is wet, the flat south of the region, Richmond and Steveston, usually gets less of it than the North Shore slopes, and a dry morning downtown can still mean a soaked trail in Lynn Valley.

It's Raining — What Should I Do?

Rain rarely ruins a Vancouver day if you plan around it. Quick picks locals actually use:

Granville Island Public Market — covered stalls, food, artisans; easily half a day.
Vancouver Aquarium (Stanley Park) — first-rate and mostly indoor.
Museum of Anthropology at UBC — one of Canada's best museums; pair with Indigenous culture guide.
Science World — the geodesic dome at False Creek; great with kids.
Vancouver Art Gallery — rotating exhibitions downtown.
Richmond's food courts — some of the best Asian food in North America, all indoors.
Capilano Suspension Bridge in the rain — genuinely atmospheric in mist, and crowds thin out.

Full plan with 2026 prices: what to do in Vancouver when it rains, with museums, free picks and kid-friendly options. Also: afternoon tea · Vancouver with kids · jazz bars · things to do.

What Locals Know About Vancouver Rain

Three things surprise visitors. First, locals don't use umbrellas much — the rain is usually a fine drizzle, and a decent waterproof shell with a hood is the uniform. Second, rain rarely lasts all day; showers move through and leave gaps, so flexible plans win. Third, the mountains change everything — it can pour downtown while Grouse Mountain sits above the cloud line in sunshine, and vice versa. Check the live conditions above before writing off an outdoor day.

Full rainy-day guide · Explore BC hub · Vancouver guide

What to wear, according to people who live in it

The single most reliable way to spot a visitor between October and March is the umbrella. Vancouver rain is usually light and often sideways off the water, and umbrellas fail on both counts. What works here, in order of importance:

Walker in a hooded green rain jacket holding a checked umbrella under autumn trees — October uniform: a hooded shell does the work; the umbrella is optional.

A hooded waterproof shell. Not water-resistant — waterproof, with a hood that stays up in wind. Everything else is optional.
Shoes that survive a puddle. Wet feet end a day faster than anything else, and the city's crossings pool at every corner in a downpour.
Layers rather than warmth. Winter daytime highs average 6–8°C from December to February, and frost comes on only about 10 to 12 nights a month — a heavy coat is uncomfortable indoors and unnecessary outdoors.
Nothing that needs an umbrella hand. You will want both hands for the camera, the coffee and the transit card.

How the rain actually arrives

It comes in bands off the Pacific, not as a single all-day event. A forecast showing 80% probability usually means several wet spells separated by dry hours, which is why locals schedule around it rather than cancelling. Late autumn brings atmospheric rivers — narrow corridors of subtropical moisture that stall over the coast and bring the year's heaviest rain. In November 2021 one cut every highway route between Vancouver and the rest of Canada for several days. Those are worth watching; ordinary November drizzle is not.

Two local details: the North Shore gets substantially more rain than the airport or downtown (see the station table above) because the mountains lift the incoming air, so a wet day in West Vancouver can be a dry one in Kitsilano. And on the coldest wet days the snow line sits just above the city — rain at sea level, snow on the three local mountains, which is why a grey afternoon downtown can be a bright one at 1,000 metres.