Weather
Wells Gray Country's weather conditions, are mainly dependent on the season. As Wells Gray Country is located in a transition zone between the dry Okanagan region and the wetter and more variable conditions of the higher Northern mountains, the weather pattern does vary from the norm.
Summer begins in June, with temperatures averaging in the low 20°C / 70°F. During this period the River levels are high as they absorb much of the snow melt from the surrounding mountains. Most of the snow has melted by the Summer Solstice on the 21st June. May and early June is a great time for viewing bears in the park!July and August are the months when the weather really warms up, often with high-pressure systems residing over the Interior of BC, resulting in long spells of hot, dry weather. This is a good time to be hiking in the hills or out on a canoeing on lake! Temperatures averages in the mid- to high-30ºs C (high 80ºs to low 90ºs F) for days and even weeks at a time. Humidity is generally low, but thundershowers are frequent in the early evenings.
September usually sees a return to more moderate conditions, similar to those in June. This is for many their favourite time to visit: the water is at its warmest, rainfall is least likely, there are fewer people about once the schools start again, and the changing colours of birch and aspen on the hillsides light-up the valleys. These conditions sometimes continue right through into October.
Typical Fall weather is cool, breezy and sometimes damp: there may be a month or two of these conditions before winter sets in. Whilst snow is possible in the mountains through most of the summer, the first for the valley might fall in October, November or even December.
Winter weather depends greatly on which of the two systems becomes dominant: the warm, moist south-westerly flows from the Coast, or the cold, dry arctic high pressure from the north. The former tends to bring the 'Hawaiian Express', warm winds which often bring the temperature to several degrees above freezing: the latter is more likely to set-in with temperatures ranging from -10º through -15º and -25º C (14º, 5º and -13º F). Most often, though, temperatures are expected average around the -5º C (23º F) mark. The snowpack ranges from less than 1m (2-3ft) in the lower valley, to somewhere between 2m (6½ft) or 4m (13ft) in the mountains.The snow generally clears from the valley by late March to mid-April, although the ski-touring up in the hills is still good right through May. The rivers begin to swell and spate at this time, peaking in early June. Spring weather brings showers and variable skies, with temperatures ranging from around 12º C (mid-50ºs F) up into the low 20ºs C (low 70ºs F) from time to time - and so the cycle begins again!
Visit for a current forecast: Weather Office