08 Dec Not tropical, but Temperate

I know that many Canadians are sick of hearing people from B.C. extolling it’s awesomeness, and this is particularly true of Islanders.  Personally, I wouldn’t live anywhere else but I understand that it’s not for everyone.  If too many people decided to move here, the island would lose some of it’s charm.  I would like to give you an example of what a temperate climate means.

Today is December 8, 2012.  I have friends and family in various locations and because I can set the weather on my smartphone to monitor numerous locations, I do so.  Here’s what I see today for the low/high temp.

Parksville, B.C.         Edmonton, AB.       Brandon, MB.

3/0                        -19/-26                  -15/-26

I lived in Manitoba for years and know that it’s not hard to stay warm.  But that’s not the key to a temperate climate.  The difference is the variation in temperatures.  There’s a 3 degree spread in the high to low.  In Edmonton is a 7 degree spread and in Brandon it’s 11 degrees.

So, no bragfest about golfing in January (although you can) and the rest, but it’s pretty darn nice here (unless you like hot weather).  Here’s some information about our rainfall (that is often sited as a good reason not to live here) that’s one of the blogs on our website.

Is Vancouver Island really as wet as some people believe it to be?  Let’s compare it to a few other destinations….

Average Annual Precipitation (in mm.)

Parksville                             1126

Orlando, FL.                          1289

West Palm Beach, FL.           1583

Venice                                  2036

Paris                                    1630

Rome                                   2273

Puerto Vallarta                      1392

Cancun                                1338

North Vancouver                   2437

Santa Domingo                     1447

How come we have the reputation of being so rainy?  Because some parts of Vancouver Island are really rainy.

Port Renfrew                        3671

Tofino                                 3306

Holberg                               4000

Henderson Lake                  6600

It’s principally the rain shadow effect that keeps us as dry or drier than many other vacation destinations around the world.  Sure, there are warmer, drier vacation destinations, but there are also other factors to consider including: travel costs, crime rates, medical insurance, exchange rates, and more.