Courtenay climate
Courtenay weather and your roof: what the Comox Valley throws at it
Courtenay's nearest long-term station, Comox Airport, records 1,152.2 mm of precipitation in an average year, 1,099.9 mm of it as rain, over 167.5 rainy days (1991–2020 normals). Snow is light at 50.8 cm a year, but summers are dry: the 2024 Comox Valley wildfire resiliency plan counts around 132 significant grass and brush fires inside the City of Courtenay from 2018 to 2023.
Reviewed by Scott Plumptree, Director of Marketing, The Interlock Group · Updated October 24, 2026
Consultations on Zoom or at your home. Book a Zoom consultation
Station
Comox Airport, about 7.5 km east-northeast of Courtenay, 1991–2020 normals
Wikipedia, Courtenay, British Columbia (ECCC normals)
Precipitation
1,152.2 mm a year; 167.5 rainy days
Wikipedia, Courtenay, British Columbia (ECCC normals)
Snowfall
50.8 cm a year over 10.0 snowy days
Wikipedia, Courtenay, British Columbia (ECCC normals)
Record low
−21.1 °C
Wikipedia, Courtenay, British Columbia (ECCC normals)
Grass and brush fires, 2018–2023
Around 132 significant fires in the City of Courtenay
Comox Valley Regional Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan 2024
What the Comox Airport normals say about Courtenay
Courtenay has no long-term station of its own, so the numbers here come from Comox Airport, which sits about 7.5 km east-northeast of the city at 25.6 m elevation. Its 1991–2020 normals, from Environment and Climate Change Canada, describe a wet, mild winter and a dry summer.
January averages a daily high of 6.3 °C and a low of 1.5 °C. July averages 23.1 °C by day and 13.7 °C at night. The year's wet weather is lopsided: July gets only about 13% of the rain that falls in an average November. For all that, Courtenay gets roughly 35% of the precipitation that falls on Tofino, about 89 km away on the open Pacific coast.
167 wet days: what Comox Valley rain does to a roof
With rain on more than 167 days of an average year, the job of a Courtenay roof is mostly to move water, month after month, and to dry out between storms. Shade and fallen needles slow that drying, which is when moss, rot in old shakes and blocked valleys start.
An Interlock® roof is heavy-gauge aluminum, and aluminum cannot rust, so standing water and wet needles do not eat into the metal the way they attack steel or wood. The panels interlock on all four sides with hidden fasteners. What still needs you is the drainage: gutters, valleys and downspouts have to be kept clear through the wet season.
Light snow, frosty nights on Courtenay eaves
Snow is a smaller story here than in most of BC. Comox Airport averages 50.8 cm a year, spread over about 10 snowy days, and the record low in the table is −21.1 °C. A January night that averages 1.5 °C still drops below freezing often enough for ice to form at cold eaves.
When snow lets go of metal it comes down together, so snow guards go into the estimate above steps, decks and parked cars. The warranty excludes ice damming, which starts with attic heat melting snow that refreezes at a cold eave; checking attic insulation and venting is part of our visit.
Grass and brush fires inside Courtenay
Dry Comox Valley summers bring fire close to town. The 2024 Comox Valley Regional Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan records that the Courtenay Fire Department responded to around 132 significant grass and brush fires in the City of Courtenay between 2018 and 2023.
Aluminum does not ignite, and our roofs are Class A Fire Rated Available, as a complete assembly: two layers of GAF VersaShield® over 12 mm (15/32-inch) plywood, tested to ASTM E108. No roof is fireproof, though. FireSmart BC's homeowner manual says to take debris out of gutters often, to think about three-millimetre metal mesh over vents, and to leave soil, rock or stone, with nothing that burns, in the first 1.5 metres out from the walls.
Salt spray on the Baynes Sound shore at Union Bay and Fanny Bay
South of Courtenay, Union Bay and Fanny Bay sit on Baynes Sound, so homes there take sea air every day. That is hard on fasteners, flashings and any steel in a roof. Because aluminum contains no iron, it cannot rust, and the thin oxide layer it forms protects it. Our roofs are warranted to 193 km/h (120 mph) installed to manufacturer specification, and on waterfront lots we pay close attention to the ridge, eaves and every flashing.
Courtenay questions, answered
Is Comox Airport really close enough to tell me about Courtenay weather?
It is the nearest station with 1991–2020 normals, about 7.5 km from the city and near sea level. A hillside lot or a farm field in Black Creek can behave differently from an airfield by the water, so we treat the airport numbers as a baseline and look at your own roof's exposure at the estimate.
With so little snow, do I need snow guards in Courtenay?
Sometimes. Courtenay averages only 50.8 cm a year, but a single wet snowfall can still slide off a metal roof in one sheet onto a doorway or a parked car. We mark the spots where a slide would cause trouble and include guards there in the written price, rather than adding them later.
Does an aluminum roof protect my Black Creek house from wildfire?
It removes one thing that can burn, because aluminum does not ignite, and the roof can be built as a Class A assembly. It cannot stop embers landing in a gutter full of needles or blowing into an open vent. FireSmart BC's checklist for gutters, vents and the 1.5-metre zone still applies to every house.
Sources for this Courtenay guide
- Comox Valley Regional Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan 2024
- FireSmart BC — Homeowner's Manual
- Wikipedia — Courtenay, British Columbia (Comox Airport climate normals, 1991–2020)
- Wikipedia — Union Bay, British Columbia
- Wikipedia — Fanny Bay, British Columbia
Product specifications are the manufacturer's (Interlock Roofing). Install counts are from our own job book. Reviewed by Scott Plumptree, October 24, 2026.
More Courtenay roofing pages
Ready for a roof built for the Comox Valley?
A fixed price in writing after one visit, on Zoom or at your home. Most BC homeowners choose Zoom. Interlock Metal Roofing (BC) Ltd. · 9969 River Way, Delta, BC V4G 1M8
