Quote:
Originally Posted by Zassk
Having lived here all my life, and also lived a year in Ottawa, some thoughts -
It's true that November feels worse here. Vancouver is farther north than Ottawa/Toronto - you wouldn't think that would make much difference, but the sunlight starts 1/2 hour later and ends 1/2 hour earlier in winter, and it makes a difference psychologically. Add the clouds and humidity, and it feels incredibly depressing.
On the other hand, February is firmly Spring in Vancouver, while it is firmly Winter Storm season in Ontario. So while we have a dreary fall, we have a much much nicer spring than Ontario. And we get a "real" spring - not just two weeks of transition around May 1st like Ontario gets, but 3 full months of awesome springlike conditions.
As for the difference between North Shore vs. Richmond - I think some of the remarks on this thread are wishful thinking by those who live close to the mountains. At least half of the days that are forecast as "cloudy" or "possible showers" have dark clouds on the North Shore but bright/blue skies down in the Fraser delta. There is a significant difference, and it's quite obvious to those of us to the south who can look north and see conditions at the mountains. Extra clouds are the price you pay for living next to the awesome mountain recreation.
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I'll have to agree with my BC brethren here.
I've lived through a lot of BC Springs, and I grew up in a town rainier than Vancouver (yes it exists).
And yes, the last few springs have been somewhat lame. But not too long ago we had a long stretch of amazing springs. I remember skipping classes in high school in May to go swimming in the lake. I remember going to April finals at University in shorts and tshirt and the gym they were in being like being an oven. The occasional frontal system goes through where it rains constantly for a few days, but I find, historically, that the weather from March onward is typically better than it is bad.
And typically, September and October are pretty good too. This year is a bit off, because I remember every single first day of class I've ever had to be an unbearable scorcher of a day where you wish you were anywhere but school, and that would last for weeks worth of torture. Even as late as Halloween, I remember only 1 or 2 October 31st where it was really raining.
November and December are usually the rainiest and January is mostly cold. But it's different than Ontario rain. In Ontario when it rains, it pours. In Vancouver, when it rains, it just rains, sometimes briefly, sometimes lightly, sometimes it's windy. The most popular is drizzle, like where there is just too much moisture to be foggy, so it just lightly rains. It's annoying, I guess for people not used to days of it on end, but I survive most days without a hood or umbrella, and the only thing I find annoying is that my glasses get wet that it's hard to see. Then you usually have that break of 3 or 4 days of sunshine. It will be bellow freezing in the morning (and by that I mean no worse than -5), but the frost typically melts before noon and at lunch time it's almost like a spring day (except some of the trees look dead). Throw in the occasional inversion and snow storm, and Vancouver winter weather is really quite a bit more than just rain.
The plus side is that we don't get ice. There are 2 or 3 full days of really icy roads in Vancouver all year. It's never so cold that I've needed a special pair of snow pants, and have never worn long johns off a mountain, and I only wear gloves if I'm standing outside waiting for a bus. The year before last was freakish in that snow stayed on the ground for more than 1 day. The City of Victoria famously sold their snowplows one year (after not using them at all for several years), only to have one of the snowiest months ever the next year. But I think all my life I've had 3 white Christmases.
But if you like the outdoors, a lot, the weather is great. Just get waterproof shoes and jacket and hit the trails almost any day of the year. Or just wait for the sunny days. I find there are enough of them to do plenty outdoors.
And it really is less rainy south of the Fraser. There have been plenty of days this past spring and summer when I've left home in Surrey where it's sunny and hot, only to get to downtown Vancouver and be glad I brought a jacket. And when I lived in White Rock, there were days I was walking on the boardwalk in a light sweater while my friends in Vancouver were huddled under umbrellas.
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