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Keep your umbrella handy for the next while around Greater Victoria

November has lived up to its reputation as one of the rainiest months of the year
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As cyclists and pedestrians pass by at Humboldt and Government streets, a garden of blooming black-eyed Susans brightens up the northwest corner of the Fairmont Empress Hotel property on a partially sunny November afternoon. (Don Descoteau/News Staff)

November tends to be one of the rainier months in Greater Victoria and this year has been no different.

That said, the region has multiple micro-climates where weather can change dramatically in a matter of a few miles. It can be sunny on the Inner Harbour, for example, while the clouds are rolling in at the University of Victoria, and it’s pouring rain at Victoria International Airport.

As such, finding a historical average for rainfall in the region varies, depending on the area, as different weather stations and other measurement equipment locations record varying amounts.

On volunteer-run website victoria.weatherstats.ca, which compiles regional data from Environment and Climate Change Canada, a total of 138.4 millimetres of rain had fallen this month as of Nov. 25, not far off the stated 30-year average of 148 mm. January is historically the rainiest month here – 291 mm of rain fell in 2020 – while December and November are next on the list.

RELATED STORY: Environment Canada warns of snow on Monday for Greater Victoria

A good illustration of the micro-climate concept is seen in the Nov. 22 edition of Water Watch, the Capital Regional District’s weekly record of water consumption and reservoir capacities. It stated that 236.9 mm of rain had fallen this month at the Sooke Lake reservoir, not far off the historical average (dating back to 1914) of 260.4 mm.

So regardless of where one lives around the region, it’s never a bad idea to keep an umbrella, rain jacket or boots close at hand this time of year.


 

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