Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Cape Scott Light British Columbia, Canada

At Cape Scott Light, the summers are cool and partly cloudy and the winters are long, very cold, wet, windy, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 40°F to 62°F and is rarely below 32°F or above 66°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Cape Scott Light for warm-weather activities is from mid July to late August.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 22 to September 22, with an average daily high temperature above 59°F. The hottest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is August, with an average high of 61°F and low of 56°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.5 months, from November 15 to March 29, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is December, with an average low of 41°F and high of 46°F.

At Cape Scott Light, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Cape Scott Light begins around June 3 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around September 28.

The clearest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 28 and lasts for 8.2 months, ending around June 3.

The cloudiest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 75% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Cape Scott Light varies very significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.9 months, from September 27 to April 24, with a greater than 45% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Cape Scott Light is November, with an average of 20.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.1 months, from April 24 to September 27. The month with the fewest wet days at Cape Scott Light is July, with an average of 7.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone at Cape Scott Light is November, with an average of 20.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 71% on November 3.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Cape Scott Light experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Cape Scott Light. The month with the most rain at Cape Scott Light is November, with an average rainfall of 12.3 inches.

The month with the least rain at Cape Scott Light is July, with an average rainfall of 2.1 inches.

The length of the day at Cape Scott Light varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 7 hours, 57 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 16 hours, 31 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:19 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 3 hours, 16 minutes later at 8:35 AM on December 30. The earliest sunset is at 4:28 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 23 minutes later at 9:51 PM on June 24.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Cape Scott Light during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Cape Scott Light, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Cape Scott Light experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.0 months, from October 12 to April 11, with average wind speeds of more than 12.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 15.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.0 months, from April 11 to October 12. The calmest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Cape Scott Light varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 3.4 weeks, from June 13 to July 7, with a peak percentage of 36% on June 28. The wind is most often from the north for 2.7 months, from July 7 to September 27, with a peak percentage of 45% on July 30. The wind is most often from the south for 8.5 months, from September 27 to June 13, with a peak percentage of 42% on January 1.

Cape Scott Light is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.6 months, from July 2 to September 21, with an average temperature above 54°F. The month of the year at Cape Scott Light with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 56°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from December 11 to April 26, with an average temperature below 48°F. The month of the year at Cape Scott Light with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 46°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Cape Scott Light throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cape Scott Light for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Cape Scott Light for hot-weather activities is for the entire month of July, with a peak score in the second week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Cape Scott Light typically lasts for 11 months (330 days), from around January 31 to around December 26, rarely starting after March 7, or ending before November 18.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Cape Scott Light should appear around June 9, only rarely appearing before May 24 or after June 27.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from May 9 to August 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.0 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is July, with an average of 6.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from October 19 to February 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.7 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Cape Scott Light is December, with an average of 0.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Cape Scott Light are 50.782 deg latitude, -128.427 deg longitude, and 187 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Cape Scott Light contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 525 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 19 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,365 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,757 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Cape Scott Light is covered by water (82%) and trees (11%), within 10 miles by water (78%) and grassland (11%), and within 50 miles by water (81%) and trees (13%).