West Kelowna in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), West Kelowna sees average daytime highs around 0°C and overnight lows near -6°C, with 168 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 West Kelowna's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see West Kelowna's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
0°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-6°C
Precipitation
168 mm
37 wet days
Avg wind
6 km/h
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in West Kelowna in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 0°C.

A typical winter day in West Kelowna reaches about 0°C and drops to -6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-20°-10°10°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in West 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.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

West 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-1° / -6°5913.3138.40.0
Feb / -6°4210.39.39.70.0
Mar / -3°5811.88.711.50.3
Apr10° / 46103.513.52.2
May15° / 5310.10.715.14.6
Jun18° / 529.90.1165.8
Jul23° / 11°295.1015.77.8
Aug23° / 12°245.2014.37.9
Sep18° / 417.30.112.46.3
Oct11° / 6711.61.610.52.5
Nov / -1°8615.3108.80.1
Dec-1° / -5°6613.714.180.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

West Kelowna gets around 168 mm of rain and snow over 37 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 6 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

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.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.5 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit West 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.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in West Kelowna.

What to pack for West Kelowna in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, West Kelowna sees daytime highs around 0°C and nights near -6°C. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. About 37 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in West Kelowna in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 West 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 15UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in West Kelowna in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in West Kelowna is worst in August — around 62 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 12.8× the cleanest month (January, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModeratePoorModeratePoorAug 1657 µg/m³Jan 215 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan5Good
Feb5Good
Mar7Good
Apr7Good
May8Good
Jun8Good
Jul29Moderate
Aug62Unhealthy
Sep22Moderate
Oct39Poor
Nov44Poor
Dec6Good
Location & terrain

Where is West Kelowna?

West Kelowna sits at 49.9°N, 119.6°W, 484 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Kelowna, 7.0 km away.

Topography around West Kelowna

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of West Kelowna.

Within 3 km, the terrain around West Kelowna has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 832 m around an average of 544 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,286 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,072 m.

The land around West Kelowna is covered by trees (47%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 3 km, trees (60%) within 16 km, and trees (75%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
832 m
16 km
1,286 m
80 km
2,072 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Kelowna 7.0 km · Okanagan Mission 9.0 km · Rutland 15 km · Lake Country 21 km · Penticton 42 km · Vernon 50 km · Salmon Arm 96 km · Kamloops 104 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
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

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 West Kelowna (49.8625°, -119.5833°, elevation 484 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.