Best use of 3 days in Vancouver in the rain?

October 21, 2010 9:08 AM

Vancouver BC bound...and the forecast calls for storms! Had planned to go birding at Stanley Park, and maybe over to the Reifel refuge near Ladner, but if the weather is blowing umbrellas inside-out, that might not be the best use of our three days up there. What's going on up there this weekend in particular? (we leave from Seattle this evening.)
posted by dorgla to Travel & Transportation around Vancouver, BC (7 answers total)

Environment Canada's forecast shows only rain or showers, not storms, which are typically pretty mild up here. If you're not worried about getting wet, you shouldn't have any problems. Howling winds are very infrequent.
posted by fatbird at 9:41 AM on October 21, 2010

Specifically, they don't mention any wind warnings, which they normally do if they're expecting it.

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-74_metric_e.html
posted by fatbird at 9:42 AM on October 21, 2010

I'm a birder as well. Not to deter you from finding another activity, but I note that some of the best birding happens just before, during, or just after inclement weather. Granted, it can depend on your habitat - for example, unless you're into some hardcore sea-faring binocular balancing act, I would suggest getting used to nature watching on the ocean when there isn't a gale. However, that same tree-top groovin', waterproof hat-soaking rain storm in a forest setting can yield some interesting results, especially during a period of migration.
posted by DisreputableDog at 9:46 AM on October 21, 2010

Like fatbird says, Vancouver rain isn't usually real rain but drizzle. We just go on with our lives -- if we always stayed in when it rained, we'd never make it out the door.
posted by randomstriker at 10:10 AM on October 21, 2010 [3 favorites]

I came here as well to say, meh, you can't let a little rain stop you in Vancouver or you'd never leave the house. Then I checked my phone and realized we are in for a decent sized dumping this weekend - ~30mm on Friday, ~20mm on Sat, ~40mm on Sunday. Thats just rain, no real wind, but enough where you are going to need an umbrella and boots unless you like the bottom of your pants getting soggy. That being said, it is late October, so that's about average for this time of year.
posted by cgg at 10:21 AM on October 21, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks for calming me down. I can do drizzle. After all, I'm from freakin' SEATTLE.
posted by dorgla at 10:23 AM on October 21, 2010

... and Reifel's south of town, the most likely area to NOT have rain.
posted by philip-random at 11:10 AM on October 21, 2010