Nanaimo in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Nanaimo sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 3°C, with 650 mm of precipitation over about 52 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Nanaimo's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Nanaimo's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 3°C
- Precipitation
- 650 mm
- 52 wet days
- Avg wind
- 13 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.2
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Nanaimo in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Nanaimo reaches about 6°C and drops to 3°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.
How winter really feels in Nanaimo
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 40 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Nanaimo 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 | 5° / 3° | 253 | 18.5 | 7.1 | 8.5 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 6° / 3° | 149 | 14.6 | 5.9 | 9.8 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 7° / 4° | 178 | 17.6 | 6.1 | 11.6 | 0.9 |
| Apr | 10° / 7° | 124 | 15.2 | 1.5 | 13.4 | 2.0 |
| May | 14° / 10° | 85 | 12.1 | 0.1 | 15 | 3.9 |
| Jun | 17° / 13° | 69 | 10.6 | 0 | 15.9 | 5.2 |
| Jul | 19° / 15° | 43 | 7.3 | 0 | 15.6 | 6.8 |
| Aug | 20° / 15° | 54 | 6.3 | 0 | 14.2 | 7.0 |
| Sep | 17° / 13° | 86 | 9.3 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 12° / 9° | 177 | 15.2 | 0.2 | 10.5 | 2.7 |
| Nov | 8° / 5° | 264 | 18.7 | 4.2 | 8.9 | 1.0 |
| Dec | 5° / 3° | 247 | 18.5 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 0.1 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Nanaimo gets around 650 mm of rain and snow over 52 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 13 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 18 min in early December to 10 h 36 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 1.2 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Nanaimo
In winter, Nanaimo overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Nanaimo's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Nanaimo?
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 Nanaimo.
What to pack for Nanaimo in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Nanaimo sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 3°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 52 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Nanaimo in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 7°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 23 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in January near 7°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Bracing |
| Feb | 7 | Bracing |
| Mar | 8 | Bracing |
| Apr | 10 | Bracing |
| May | 13 | Bracing |
| Jun | 15 | Cool |
| Jul | 17 | Cool |
| Aug | 17 | Cool |
| Sep | 15 | Cool |
| Oct | 12 | Bracing |
| Nov | 9 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index in Nanaimo 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 Nanaimo 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 19 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 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 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 | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Nanaimo?
Nanaimo sits at 49.2°N, 123.9°W, 16 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Harewood, 2.0 km away.
Topography around Nanaimo
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Nanaimo.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Nanaimo has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 238 m around an average of 39 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,013 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,048 m.
The land around Nanaimo is covered by trees (35%), water (33%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, trees (49%) and water (38%) within 16 km, and trees (59%) and water (35%) 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 Nanaimo (49.1664°, -123.94°, elevation 16 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.