Quinsam River is a weather station located 46 m above sea level, 4 km from Campbell River. Its records go back to 1959: 58 years of temperature are available up to 2017, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Closed series: the records of this station end in 2017. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 9.6 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (8.8 °C): a difference of 0.8 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2014 (10.8 °C) and the coldest 1972 (7.8 °C). The last complete year, 2017, ranks 17 out of 58, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2017, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.24 °C per decade. The station ranks 127 out of 240 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1959
The first ten years of the series (1959–1968) average 9.0 °C; the last ten (2007–2017) average 9.7 °C, a difference of +0.7 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 5 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2014 (10.8 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 9.7 °C (2017) and bottoms out at 8.4 °C (1978).
Annual rainfall since 1959
On average 1674 mm of rain falls per year over the 57 documented years. The wettest year, 1968, received 2219 mm; the driest, 1985, only 1187 mm, which is 1.9 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1670 mm per year) is 24 mm (1.4 %) below the 1961–1990 one (1694 mm). Over 1991–2020, November is on average the wettest month (267 mm) and July the driest (38 mm). Between 1997 and 2017, 8 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020
The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.4 °C | 2.8 °C | +1.4 °C | 216 mm | 231 mm | +15 mm |
| February | 3.3 °C | 4.0 °C | +0.7 °C | 175 mm | 165 mm | −10 mm |
| March | 5.0 °C | 5.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 169 mm | 160 mm | −9 mm |
| April | 7.7 °C | 8.4 °C | +0.7 °C | 92 mm | 98 mm | +6 mm |
| May | 11.3 °C | 12.4 °C | +1.1 °C | 71 mm | 69 mm | −2 mm |
| June | 14.4 °C | 15.1 °C | +0.7 °C | 61 mm | 61 mm | 0 mm |
| July | 16.8 °C | 17.8 °C | +1.0 °C | 52 mm | 38 mm | −14 mm |
| August | 16.9 °C | 17.6 °C | +0.7 °C | 59 mm | 51 mm | −8 mm |
| September | 13.6 °C | 14.3 °C | +0.7 °C | 77 mm | 75 mm | −2 mm |
| October | 8.9 °C | 9.3 °C | +0.4 °C | 197 mm | 194 mm | −3 mm |
| November | 4.6 °C | 5.2 °C | +0.6 °C | 251 mm | 267 mm | +16 mm |
| December | 2.0 °C | 2.6 °C | +0.6 °C | 274 mm | 261 mm | −13 mm |
The largest temperature change is in January (+1.4 °C) and the smallest in October (+0.4 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.8 °C, and 12 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in November (+16 mm) and the smallest in July (−14 mm).
Records at Quinsam River
- Warmest year: 10.8 °C, in 2014
- Coldest year: 7.8 °C, in 1972
- Driest year: 1187 mm, in 1985
- Wettest year: 2219 mm, in 1968
- Warmest month: 21.3 °C, in July 1958
- Coldest month: −4.0 °C, in January 1969
- Wettest month: 545 mm, in December 2010
- Hottest day: 39.0 °C, on 27 June 2021
- Coldest day: −20.0 °C, on 21 February 2014
- Heaviest rain in one day: 92.2 mm, on 11 November 2007
3.0 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 59.0 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2017
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.24 °C per decade between 1961 and 2017, about +1.3 °C over the whole period. That is slower than the median of the 240 stations (+0.25 °C per decade), by 0.01 °C per decade: the station ranks 127 out of 240.
Data source and licence
Data source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (dataset “AHCCD (ahccd-monthly) + climate-daily”), licence Open Government Licence – Canada. Last updated: 29 October 2026.
The data for Quinsam River are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 240 stations in Canada: the overview page lets you compare them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the annual mean temperature at Quinsam River?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Quinsam River is 9.6 °C. It was 8.8 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.8 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Quinsam River?
Since records began in 1959, the warmest year at Quinsam River is 2014, at 10.8 °C on average. The coldest is 1972 (7.8 °C).
Is the climate at Quinsam River getting warmer?
Yes: at Quinsam River, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.24 °C per decade between 1961 and 2017, +1.3 °C in total. 5 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations