Nanaimo is probably the northernmost location of a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) in the world, and is slightly shielded from the Aleutian Low’s influence by the mountains of central Vancouver Island, so that summers are unusually dry for its latitude and location — though summer drying as a trend is found in the immediate lee of the coastal ranges as far north as Skagway, Alaska.
Heavy snowfall does occasionally occur during winter, with a record daily total of 0.74 metres (29.13 in) on February 12, 1975, but the mean maximum cover is only 0.2 metres (7.9 in)
