rain and surf in vancouver
 

sooo, i've heard lots about how vancouver is supposed to get twice as much rain as london so can anyone share their weather experience on vancouver? is it really that it rains tones more or is it maybe that instead of the british drizzle you just have proper rain and thats why vancouver technically gets more rain? or is it literally that it rains pretty much every day apart from the sunny months of july and august?
also, where's the nearest place to surf (not windsurf but with proper waves) around vancouver?

cheers guys!

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

surf: vancouver Island west coast, or oregon coast. Vancouver is too protected for surf. Kitesurfing all around vancouver, Boundry bay, squamish in summer if that suits you as an adequate substitute.

Others will be along to fill you in about vancouvers micro climates.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

thanks for that! so roughly how long would it take to get from vancouver cbd to a good surf spot on say vancouver island or the oregon coast? would probably be more of a weekend trip then wouldnt it?
guess you always have the mountains to play on too :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Ya, def a weekend away. I'm a kiteboarder, ex windsurfer, reluctant surfer and in Calgary now so not much surf here.

All that mincing around paddling around when you can use the kite to get out back, depower the kite, ride the wave and have endless sessions.

Seriously though, there are also some spots in washington state but I don't know them too well.

As you say, stellar mountain sports to keep you busy. If you like outdoors vancouver will tick most of the boxes.



http://www.surfingvancouverisland.com/surf/
http://www.oregonsurf.com/pages/orsurfguide/north.html

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Hey there,

Take up snowboarding and ride the powder!! It's awesome..... :)

As far as rain in Vancouver, well, it pretty much rains from November to April!! But on the occasional sunny days, you realise why you live there when you can see the beautiful snowy mountains on the north shore....

:thumbsup:

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

I already snowboard, its the boyfriend who is a very keen surfer. He started snowboarding, too, but will definitely miss his surfs. But it's good to know that there is some surf in road trip distance :)

As for the weather... have any of you ever lived in the South West before? It rains constantly down here, and I've read that Vancouver in fact has more sunny days per year than London so I'm guessing in Vancouver it just rains a lot more when it does rain (mm per rainfall)? Or are you telling me it's literally constant rain from October to April???

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Yeah for snowboarding!! I've heard the surf isn't bad on Vancouver island if a little cold......

It pretty much rains most of winter and as a general rule summer is beautiful. I think the rain is just more concentrated, but at least you know it's snowing in the mountains not too far away!! I actual live in Cornwall at the moment, but have lived in Vancouver a couple of times....

:)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

We had 8.6mm of rain over the past 90 day to Friday last. Friday to Monday up to 150- 200mm depending on where you were. More to come this week, with high winds. It is not unusual for it to rain 3 days straight. Vancouver for the most part has double the annual precip of London.

All the data you need is here http://www.climate.weatheroffice.gc....s/index_e.html

The nearest you would get to surfing around Vancouver is wind surfing. Board surfing, west coast of the island.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Pretty much, interspersed with the odd arctic outflow, low temps and cold winds.
Check out the EC stats on the link above.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

The surfable parts of the Oregon coast are about 8 hours’ drive from Vancouver. If you time the ferries correctly it is about 5 1/2 hours from Vancouver to Long Beach on Vancouver Island. As mentioned above, Squamish is about an hour and a bit from Vancouver and is a centre for wind surfing.

As for the weather, Vancouver has a lot more rain than London, UK, but exactly how much more depends on where you live. The closer to the mountains you are the wetter it gets. We have just started on the wettest part of the year - between now and Christmas. Even so, it will probably not rain on more days than it does rain. However, a front can easily bring 100 mm (4 inches) of rain with it that gets deposited over two or three days and then it seems like the rain will never stop.

It does.

We will get some sunny days in November and December. But not many.

We usually get a couple of falls of snow in the winter but it rarely lies for more than a day or two. Each winter we get a a period when the cold air from the interior spills out to the coast - a week or two of bitter cold with cloudless sunny skies.

Shorts and sandals start to reappear at the end of February/beginning of March though less hardy types like me wait until April. Spring tends to be hit and miss. Some nice days and some overcast with showers. June can be a surprisingly wet month.

And then there is summer ...

In summary, more hours of sunshine than London (UK), more days with sunshine, and a much greater volume of rain.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Maybe more rain then London however not sure if Vancouver can rank up against Manchester for rain?

:rofl:

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Manchester is comparatively parched.

Manchester: 806.6mm p/yr average (140 days of rainfall)

Vancouver: 1,199mm p/yr average (161 days of rainfall)

As Aviator pointed out, Vancouver rain can be quite localized.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Manchester reputation for rain, is greatly exaggerated. It gets less than the UK average.

Vancouver gets a lot more rain than Manchester or London.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

right so just checked the rain data for plymouth. over 1000mm per year and 178 rainy days... i think we could deal with vancouver :) especially if you then get a proper summer!

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

3 days of rain now sunny with blue sky :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

:thumbup: http://www.katkam.ca/

For surfing, Tofino's worth the 5 hour trip: http://www.longbeachlodgeresort.com/...no-webcam.html

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

The amount of clear blue days here since July 2 was incredible.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

incredibly high or incredibly low? :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Yes and it's not even the rainiest city in the UK contrary to popular myth. For example, Swansea, Cardiff, Glasgow, Plymouth and Bristol (and others) get more rain than Manchester.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Dry but overcast today.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

And chilly.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

It was the kind of 3 summer months they dream about in Britain. :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Well it was 18c in London today and only 12c in Vancouver which is the only place anybody that has something about them wants to live in Canada.

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Was a beautiful evening for a run :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

i like that this now turned into 'whats the weather like in vancouver right now' thread :) keep them coming! since this thread started there's been nothing but rain in good old devon......

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

thanks for everyones' replies. i completely understand and agree that certain dogs do not belong off the leash so i guess it makes sense that some parks like stanley park only allow dogs on lead (shame is that stanley park actually looks like the sort of place where you can walk for hours, not just from one park bench to the next).
but its good to know that there are at least some areas where very active dogs like my pointer can still have a good run around :)

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Why is it that Devon and Cornwall have so much more rain than other southern parts of the UK? (I'm not expecting a serious answer btw, was more just pondering out loud). Guess it must be something to do with being coastal on both north and south maybe?

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

apparently plymouth has its own little micro climate which is meant to have something to do with its location between dartmoor and the sea. that was a rubbish answer sorry... frankly, i just dont really know. good thing about all the rain is you appreciate that one hour of sunshine every now and then even more!

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

I don't know either, we go down to near Plymouth a lot (Cawsand) and it always seems to be raining there when it's dry and sunny back in Berkshire!

I'll go with your dartmoor/sea reason though, I like that. :D

Re: rain and surf in vancouver
 

Most of England is in the (modest) rain shadow of Ireland. The South West is directly exposed to the moisture laden winds off the Atlantic.

Anyway, dry and overcast at the moment. Expected to persist down by the end of the day.