Vancouver's a very rainy place.
This is something most readers will already know.
But just how rainy? Well, it's not the rainiest city in Canada, despite how it can feel. It should be noted, though, that that title goes to Prince Rupert, another town on B.C.'s west coast (make your 'wet coast jokes now).
It is one of the rainiest big cities in North America, though, so when comparing to other Canadians and our neighbours to the south, we've got that to complain about when they're upset about long, cold winters.
So here are some other damp weather facts for you.
1. Companies based around rain
Because Vancouver is a large, relatively wealthy city with a high level of education, it's perhaps not surprising that there are several companies that have developed or invented leading-edge rain gear.
For example, there's Vessi, the waterproof shoe. And there's Hedgehog Umbrella's umbrella that can withstand wind better. And, if you forget your umbrella, there's UmbraCity, which operates an umbrella-share network. And that's ignoring all the clothing companies that have their own rain jacket designs.
2. The rainiest part of Metro Vancouver gets way more rain than the driest
Metro Vancouver is a city full of microclimates.
North Vancouver is well known as the rainiest part of Vancouver, but it may be shocking how much more rain it gets. The City of North Vancouver notes on its own website there's heavy rainfall, and estimates an average of 177 cm fall each year. The average amount goes up as you get to the base of Grouse Mountain.
Conversely, the driest part of Metro Vancouver is Delta, specifically Tsawassen. According to Environment Canada's historic records, it averages around 90 cm of rain each year, nearly half that of North Vancouver.
3. The longest wet streak in Vancouver history
While there are plenty of wet streaks in Vancouver that last over a week or two, the longest is more than a month. In 1952 residents went 46 consecutive days with some amount of precipitation falling each day.
4. The longest dry streak
While Vancouver is famous for its rain, there've been plenty of long dry streaks as well. Recently (well, 2021) the city tallied 52 days in a row without any rain.
However, the record is held by 1951, when the city went 58 days without any precipitation.
5. The rainiest year
Vancouver's rainiest year was 1997. While 2021 saw the rainiest fall ever, with more than 600 mm of rain in three months, it also had that aforementioned drought.
In 1997 a massive 1,521 mm of rain fell in one year (and that was after 1996 saw 1,462 mm fall in one year). That's about 5 feet of rain in one year.
