TechGist05

One of my pet peeves is that the official weather recording site for Victoria is located at the Victoria International Airport - which is actually in North Saanich, 25 km north of Victoria. This would be okay if the climate at the airport was representative of Victoria, but it really isn't. This partly goes back to the rainshadow effect. The core area of Greater Victoria (particularly the City of Victoria, Oak Bay, and the southeastern part of Saanich) is much more affected by the Olympic Mountain rainshadow than the Westshore or the Saanich Peninsula (where the airport is located). In addition, the moderating effect of the Strait of Juan de Fuca means that the core area (especially those parts near the Strait) tend to be milder (warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer) than the Saanich Peninsula. So if not the Airport site, then what weather recording site should be used to represent Victoria? The Gonzales weather station used to be Victoria's official recording site, and

Victoria's climate is very unique in Canada. It's well known as the mildest city in Canada, but what really makes it stand apart from other parts of coastal British Columbia is its location in a double rainshadow of Vancouver Island and the Olympic Mountains. As a result, Victoria gets much less rain and snow, and significantly more sunshine than other places in coastal B.C. In fact, among major cities in Canada, only those in the southern Prairies get less precipitation and more sunshine than Victoria. Just to highlight the mild part of Victoria's climate, I have included a picture taken on January 23, 2010 of some daffodils in full bloom here in Victoria. There's not too many places in Canada where you would see that in January!