Average Weather in North Cowichan Canada

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3. British Columbia
4. North Cowichan

In North Cowichan, the summers are short, comfortable, dry, and partly cloudy and the winters are long, chilly, wet, and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 71°F and is rarely below 28°F or above 78°F.

The warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from June 17 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 65°F. The hottest day of the year is August 2, with an average high of 71°F and low of 57°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 13 to March 11, with an average daily high temperature below 49°F. The coldest day of the year is January 2, with an average low of 37°F and high of 43°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In North Cowichan, 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 in North Cowichan begins around June 1 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around October 5. On August 3, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 74% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 26% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 5 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around June 1. On January 20, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 69% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 31% 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 in North Cowichan varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.1 months, from October 12 to April 14, with a greater than 32% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 55% on November 18.

The drier season lasts 5.9 months, from April 14 to October 12. The smallest chance of a wet day is 8% on July 30.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 54% on November 15.

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. North Cowichan experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in North Cowichan. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around November 21, with an average total accumulation of 6.0 inches.

The least rain falls around July 30, with an average total accumulation of 0.6 inches.

Snowfall

The sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent quantity of snowfall in North Cowichan does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 0.1 inches of 0.1 inches throughout.

The length of the day in North Cowichan varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 16 hours, 11 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:10 AM on June 16, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 58 minutes later at 8:08 AM on December 31. The earliest sunset is at 4:17 PM on December 11, and the latest sunset is 5 hours, 4 minutes later at 9:22 PM on June 25.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in North Cowichan during 2017, starting in the spring on March 12, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 5.

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 in North Cowichan, 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 in North Cowichan experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.7 months, from October 23 to April 13, with average wind speeds of more than 3.1 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is December 4, with an average hourly wind speed of 3.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.3 months, from April 13 to October 23. The calmest day of the year is August 23, with an average hourly wind speed of 2.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in North Cowichan varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 6.0 days, from March 17 to March 23 and for 3.0 days, from October 22 to October 25, with a peak percentage of 31% on March 18. The wind is most often from the west for 7.0 months, from March 23 to October 22, with a peak percentage of 77% on July 22. The wind is most often from the east for 4.7 months, from October 25 to March 17, with a peak percentage of 49% on January 1.

North Cowichan 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 3.0 months, from June 15 to September 16, with an average temperature above 56°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is August 2, with an average temperature of 59°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.3 months, from November 25 to April 5, with an average temperature below 48°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is January 29, with an average temperature of 45°F.

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 10 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest day of the year is July 17, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 24 to February 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.1 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 25, with an average of 0.8 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of North Cowichan are 48.841 deg latitude, -123.686 deg longitude, and 174 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of North Cowichan contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,129 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 306 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (4,144 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (5,886 feet).

The area within 2 miles of North Cowichan is covered by trees (70%) and sparse vegetation (12%), within 10 miles by trees (59%) and water (22%), and within 50 miles by water (47%) and trees (40%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in North Cowichan, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 3 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in North Cowichan.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and North Cowichan according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at North Cowichan is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between North Cowichan and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are: Victoria International Airport (46%, 29 kilometers, southeast); Sand Heads CS, B. C. (28%, 40 kilometers, northeast); and Entrance Island Automatic Weather Reporting System (26%, 43 kilometers, north).

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.