Kelowna in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Kelowna sees average daytime highs around 0°C and overnight lows near -6°C, with 167 mm of precipitation over about 37 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 0°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Kelowna's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kelowna's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 0°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -6°C
- Precipitation
- 167 mm
- 37 wet days
- Avg wind
- 5 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Kelowna in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 0°C.
A typical winter day in Kelowna reaches about 0°C and drops to -6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Kelowna
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Kelowna weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -1° / -6° | 59 | 13.5 | 13 | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 2° / -6° | 41 | 10 | 9 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 6° / -3° | 55 | 11.5 | 8.1 | 11.5 | 0.4 |
| Apr | 10° / 1° | 43 | 9.7 | 2.9 | 13.5 | 2.3 |
| May | 15° / 5° | 51 | 9.9 | 0.3 | 15.1 | 4.5 |
| Jun | 18° / 8° | 51 | 9.2 | 0 | 16 | 5.8 |
| Jul | 23° / 12° | 30 | 5.3 | 0 | 15.7 | 7.7 |
| Aug | 23° / 13° | 25 | 5.2 | 0 | 14.3 | 7.9 |
| Sep | 18° / 9° | 43 | 7.7 | 0.1 | 12.4 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 11° / 4° | 69 | 12.1 | 1.6 | 10.5 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 4° / -1° | 87 | 15.5 | 9.9 | 8.8 | 0.1 |
| Dec | -0° / -5° | 66 | 13.5 | 14.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Kelowna gets around 167 mm of rain and snow over 37 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 5 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 12 min in early December to 10 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.5 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Kelowna?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kelowna.
What to pack for Kelowna in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Kelowna sees daytime highs around 0°C and nights near -6°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 37 days see rain.
UV index in Kelowna in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kelowna peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 5 | Moderate |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 7 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Air quality in Kelowna in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Kelowna is worst in August — around 33 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 10.1× the cleanest month (January, 3 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Kelowna's WHO annual average of 12 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 26 | 33 | 6 | 30 | 19 | 5 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Good |
| Feb | 4 | Good |
| Mar | 4 | Good |
| Apr | 4 | Good |
| May | 4 | Good |
| Jun | 5 | Good |
| Jul | 26 | Moderate |
| Aug | 33 | Moderate |
| Sep | 6 | Good |
| Oct | 30 | Moderate |
| Nov | 19 | Moderate |
| Dec | 5 | Good |
Where is Kelowna?
Kelowna sits at 49.9°N, 119.5°W, 350 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is West Kelowna, 7.0 km away.
Topography around Kelowna
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kelowna.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Kelowna has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 276 m around an average of 361 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,343 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,082 m.
The land around Kelowna is covered by artificial surfaces (39%) and water (30%) within 3 km, trees (56%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (76%) within 80 km.
Canada travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 83% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $55,698
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.7 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 97%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 2
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 5.3
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kelowna (49.8831°, -119.4857°, elevation 350 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.