Climate and average weather in Whistler

In Whistler, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid July to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Whistler typically varies from -8°C to 18°C, and is rarely below -18°C or above 25°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Whistler for warm-weather activities is from mid July to late August.

Hottest
Aug
18°
Coldest
Dec
-8°
Wettest
Nov
391 mm
Driest
Jul
80 mm
Rain / yr
2578 mm
193 wet days
Daylight
7.8–16.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
0 m
50.1°N
Clearest
Aug
55% cloud

Whistler is town in British Columbia, Canada.

Air quality
Excellent
PM2.5 5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
36/km²
people per km²
Founded
1914

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Whistler weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid July to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Whistler, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.1 months, from June 17 to September 18, with daily high temperatures above 13°C. The hottest month of the year in Whistler is August, with an average high of 18°C and low of 7°C.

The cool season lasts 3.9 months, from November 11 to March 9, with daily high temperatures below 0°C. The coldest month of the year in Whistler is December, with an average low of -8°C and high of -4°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in August.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-3-7
Feb-1-7
Mar1-5
Apr5-2
May91
Jun134
Jul177
Aug187
Sep134
Oct6-1
Nov-1-6
Dec-4-8

How hot and cold Whistler really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -9°C (around December 26), with roughly 217 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in December.

-10°-5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-3-3-7-7
Feb-1-1-7-7
Mar11-5-5
Apr45-2-2
May9911
Jun131344
Jul171777
Aug171877
Sep131344
Oct66-1-1
Nov-1-1-6-6
Dec-4-4-8-8

Average hourly temperature in Whistler

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 18°C, and coldest before dawn in December, near -8°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Whistler weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-3° / -8°35019.219.88.30.0
Feb-1° / -7°21515.315.99.70.0
Mar / -5°29119.919.911.50.0
Apr / -3°16916.415.413.50.1
May / 12515.87.515.21.6
Jun13° / 12216.92.116.13.0
Jul17° / 8010.80.115.75.6
Aug18° / 8510.30.114.35.7
Sep13° / 13511.81.912.43.6
Oct / -1°27317.312.310.50.5
Nov-1° / -6°39119.818.98.80.0
Dec-4° / -8°34219.119.77.90.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Whistler gets about 2578 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.4 months, from around Oct 10 to Apr 23, peaking in November at about 68% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 30.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 391 mm over about 20 wet days; July is the driest, with 80 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 13 · 68%Jul 30 · 30%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan6119
Feb5615
Mar6320
Apr5516
May5116
Jun5517
Jul3611
Aug3310
Sep4012
Oct5517
Nov6520
Dec6319

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Whistler collects about 2578 mm of rain across 193 wet days — roughly 215 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 391 mm, while July is the driest at just 80 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250300350400450JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec3502152911691251228085135273391342
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3501920
Feb2151516
Mar2912020
Apr1691615
May125168
Jun122172
Jul80110
Aug85100
Sep135122
Oct2731712
Nov3912019
Dec3421920

Snow in Whistler

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Whistler averages about 134 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 4 to Jun 29 — about 9.8 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 20 days of snow and an estimated 387 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 2040 cm of snow.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 18
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan20322
Feb16252
Mar20317
Apr15157
May849
Jun210
Jul00
Aug00
Sep210
Oct12157
Nov19380
Dec20387

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Whistler, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 27 and lasts for 3.4 months, ending around October 9. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 50% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 10 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around February 15. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 30 · 58%Dec 18 · 18%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2179
Feb2872
Mar2377
Apr2476
May2773
Jun2476
Jul4852
Aug5050
Sep4159
Oct2971
Nov2278
Dec2080

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 18, brings about 16 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 7 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 8 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.38:124:30
Feb9.77:345:19
Mar11.56:356:07
Apr13.55:276:57
May15.24:327:44
Jun16.14:088:16
Jul15.74:258:10
Aug14.35:077:25
Sep12.45:556:17
Oct10.56:435:11
Nov8.87:354:19
Dec7.98:124:04

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Whistler averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 13 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.6 months, from around Jun 28 to Oct 15. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 10 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 4 sunny days — about 64% fewer than the August peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 113 daysJun 103 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar4Gloomy
Apr4Gloomy
May5Gloomy
Jun4Gloomy
Jul10Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep9Mixed
Oct7Gloomy
Nov4Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Whistler, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)
Jan100
Feb100
Mar100
Apr100
May100
Jun100
Jul100
Aug100
Sep100
Oct100
Nov100
Dec100

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Whistler is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmMar 19 · 5 km/hSep 11 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar5calm
Apr4calm
May4calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Hazard calendar for Whistler

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Whistler's rainy season runs October–March, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Whistler

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Whistler throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid August, Whistler is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Whistler for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 6.4

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.0poor
Apr0.1poor
May1.6poor
Jun3.0poor
Jul5.5good
Aug5.7good
Sep3.6fair
Oct0.6poor
Nov0.0poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Whistler for hot-weather activities is from late July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 2.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Whistler, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 18°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near -4°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Whistler sees daytime highs around 18°C and nights near 7°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Whistler by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Whistler peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May8Very high
Jun7High
Jul9Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Whistler

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar40
Apr5.50
May7.54
Jun83
Jul8.55
Aug73
Sep4.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Whistler typically lasts about 148 days, from around May 13 to October 7 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 13 to September 16.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2710%May 1350%Jun 1390%Sep 1690%Oct 750%Nov 2410%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1131
Feb828
Mar931
Apr1730
May5631
Jun9113
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep8814
Oct3631
Nov1430
Dec831

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Whistler banks about 143 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun2
Jul72
Aug69
Sep1
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Whistler receives about 3.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.8 and 6.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 18. The brightest month is July, averaging about 5.9 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.8 kWh/m² — roughly 86% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 226.0 kWhDec 170.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.0Dim
Feb2.1Moderate
Mar3.2Moderate
Apr4.9Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun5.6Bright
Jul6.0Bright
Aug5.2Bright
Sep3.6Moderate
Oct2.1Moderate
Nov1.1Dim
Dec0.8Dim

Where is Whistler?

Whistler sits at 50.1°N, 123.0°W, 0 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Squamish, 49 km away.

What Whistler looks like

man in white t-shirt standing on gray rock under blue and white sunny cloudy sky
Photos by emma and Benjamin Hayward on Unsplash
a man looking at a television screen with a mountain in the background
a man standing in the middle of an ice cave

Topography around Whistler

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whistler has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 852 m around an average of 826 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,493 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,912 m.

The land around Whistler is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (70%) within 16 km, and trees (62%) within 80 km.

3 km
852 m
16 km
2,493 m
80 km
2,912 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Squamish 49 km · Central Lonsdale 89 km · West Vancouver 89 km · North Vancouver 90 km · Lower Lonsdale 90 km · Westwood Plateau 91 km · Hastings-Sunrise 93 km · Coquitlam 94 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 Whistler (50.1182°, -122.954°, elevation 0 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).