Gardening Information for Vancouver, Washington

Repost from 2000:

It is now raining heavily in Vancouver, Washington.  The Cascades will get some heavy snow at the higher altitudes.  Temperatures in the 40's.  

The annual average rainfall (AAR) in the different places I have lived is of note for me:

1946-1967  Unincorporated East Los Angeles, Bandini Neighborhood/Varrio,
                  City of Commerce, Southern California   AAR = 15”
1948-1958  Karen grew up in Alexandria, Central Indiana   AAR = 42"
1969-1973  Biloxi, Mississippi   AAR = 65”
1973-1983  Bell Gardens, Southern California   AAR =  15”
1983-1998  Hacienda Heights, California   AAR = 15”
1998-2017  Red Bluff, Northern California   AAR = 25”
2017–         Vancouver, Southwestern Washington, Northwest USA  AAR = 42”


Vancouver, Washington, is rated as USDA Agricultural Zone 8B.

Zone 8b means that the average minimum winter temperature is 15 to 20 °F. 

Gardening Information for Vancouver, Washington:  

Understanding your gardening environment is essential to success.  What are the climate conditions in your area during a year's cycle?  What is the soil like?
What kinds of plants are grown successfully in your area?  What nurseries are nearby.  

Vancouver, Washington, USA, Zip Code: 98662

Hardiness Zone:  Zone 8a: 10F to 15F

Average First Frost:  October 21 - 31

Average Last Frost:  April 1 - 10

Koppen-Geiger Climate Zone:  Csb - Warm-Summer Mediterranean Climate

Ecoregion:  3a - Portland Vancouver Basin

Palmer Drought Index:  Extremely Moist

Average Annual Rainfall:  43.55 inches

Heat Zone Days:  Rare Over 86F 

Elevation:  171 feet above the Pacific Ocean

Soil:  

Nurseries:  Yard and Garden, Shorty's, Tsugawa in Woodland, Lowe's and Home Depot.  

General Geography: 

The Pacific Ocean and Astoria, Oregon, is 100 miles to the West from Vancouver.
The south side of the City of Vancouver is the Columbia River, and across the river is Portland, Oregon.  The Cascade range and Columbia Gorge is to the East.  Looking north: 165 miles to Seattle, 494 miles to Vancouver, Canada; 105 miles to Olympia, and 45 miles to Mt. St. Helens.  

January Average: 33F low, 46F high, 6" Rain

February Average: 35F low, 50F high, 4.99" Rain

March Average: 37F low, 56F high, 4.38" Rain

April Average:  40F low, 60F high, 3.28" Rain

May Average:  45F low, 67F high, 2.67" Rain

June Average:  50F low, 72F high, 1.88" Rain

July Average:  53F low, 79F high, .8" Rain

August Average:  57F low, 82F high, .5" Rain

September Average:  49F low, 75F high, 1.91" Rain

October Average:  42F low, 64F high, 3.41" Rain

November Average:  38F low, 52F high, 6.49" Rain

December Average:  34F low, 46F high, 6.68" Rain

Yearly Averages:  42F low, 62F high, 43.55" Rain


The Spirit of Gardening

Gardening in Red Bluff, California

Colors in the Garden: Vancouver, WA

Gardening in Vancouver, Washington

Weather in Vancouver, Washington

The City of Vancouver, in Clark County, Washington, USA, is situated on the north side of the Columbia River, directly across form the large City of Portland, Oregon, on the south side of the Columbia River.  Portland and Vancouver have the same weather.

Karen and I live in the Orchards neighborhood, northeast of the City of Vancouver, in Clark County, about 7 miles north of the Columbia River along the 205 Freeway.
We can see both Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens from our area.

Average Annual Precipitation: 43.55 Inches (Some sources say 39 Inches) 

Number of Days Per Year with a Trace or More of Precipitation: 151

Number of Cloudy Days: 229

Vancouver, Washington, USA, Zip Code: 98662

Hardiness Zone:  Zone 8a: 10F to 15F

Average First Frost:  October 21 - 31

Average Last Frost:  April 1 - 10

Koppen-Geiger Climate Zone:  Csb - Warm-Summer Mediterranean Climate

Ecoregion:  3a - Portland Vancouver Basin

Palmer Drought Index:  Extremely Moist

Average Annual Rainfall:  43.55 inches

Heat Zone Days:  Rare Over 86F 

Elevation:  171 feet above the Pacific Ocean

General Geography: 

The Pacific Ocean and Astoria, Oregon, is 100 miles to the West from Vancouver, along the Columbia River. The south side of the City of Vancouver is the Columbia River, and across the river is Portland, Oregon. The Cascade range and Columbia Gorge is to the East. Looking north:165 miles to Seattle, 307 miles to Vancouver, Canada; 105 miles to Olympia, and 45 miles to Mt. St. Helens.

January Average: 33F low, 46F high, 6" Rain

February Average: 35F low, 50F high, 4.99" Rain

March Average: 37F low, 56F high, 4.38" Rain

April Average:  40F low, 60F high, 3.28" Rain

May Average:  45F low, 67F high, 2.67" Rain

June Average:  50F low, 72F high, 1.88" Rain

July Average:  53F low, 79F high, .8" Rain

August Average:  57F low, 82F high, .5" Rain

September Average:  49F low, 75F high, 1.91" Rain

October Average:  42F low, 64F high, 3.41" Rain

November Average:  38F low, 52F high, 6.49" Rain

December Average:  34F low, 46F high, 6.68" Rain

Yearly Averages:  42F low, 62F high, 43.55" Rain


The Spirit of Gardening

Gardening Information for Vancouver WA.

Gardening in Red Bluff, California

Colors in the Garden: Vancouver, WA

Gardening in Vancouver, Washington

The Weather of the Pacific Northwest. By Cliff Mass. University of Washington Press, 2021, 299 pages,  Second Edition. FVRL. Excellent overview, lots of photographs, for the lay reader but very thorough.

Rains All the Time: A Connoisseur's History of Weather in the Pacific Northwest. By David Laskin. 1997, 215 pages.

Snowing in April

This week, day after day, cloudy, overcast, gray, and raining.  Today it snowed all morning.

Snowing in Vancouver

It has been snowing since Thursday (2/11).  There is now 10 inches of snow in our area.  Snow will continue until Monday.  This is the most snow we have ever seen around any of our homes. 

Our west side garden covered in snow.
This picture was taken on 2/12

The west side garden on 2/9.

Birds Dying in the Dead of Winter

 "February is a suitable month for dying.  Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long."

-  Anna Quindlen, One True Thing

February Quotations

Cold and Homeboud in Vancouver

All the schools and libraries are closed for four weeks in Vancouver to prevent the spread of the flu.  All gatherings and sports events are cancelled.

This morning it is snowing.  There are about 3 to 4 inches of snow everywhere.

We have our home stocked with provisions and emergeny supplies.  Electricity and water are available.

Both Karen and I seem healthy and have a positive attitude.

May everyone stay healthy and weather this storm of a serious flu pandemic.  

Not Much Yard Work Today

It snowed about 3" last night here in Vancouver. 

A day for staying indoors.  I enjoy reading, sipping coffee, playing my harmonica, playing computer Bridge or Spades, coloring or drawing, watching television, doing yoga, napping, daydreaming, reflecting. 

Sailing Through the Northwest Passage

I really enjoyed watching the documentary about people sailing the Northwest Passage in the Arctic realms of Northern Canada.  The documentary is now on Netflix and is titled "The Polar Sea."  

Because of global warming the ice is melting in this polar region with a dramatic effect on the landscape, animals, and humans. 







Stan Rogers (1949-1983) composed this song, "Northwest Passage."






"Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient for which so many died
Seeking gold and glory, leaving broken weathered bones
And a long forgotten lonely cairn of stones

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Three centuries thereafer I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelso, where his "sea of flowers" began
Watching cities rise before me, and behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer driving hard across the plain

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
To make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking west
I think upon Mackenzie, David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts
and showed a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea

How then am I so different from the first men to this way
Like them I led a sheltered life and threw it all away
To seek a Northwest Passage at the call of many men
To find there but the road back home again

Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage
And make a northwest passage to the sea
And make a Northwest Passage to the sea."
-  Stan Rogers, 1981

New Winter Experiences

I lived in the East Los Angeles metropolitan area from 1946-1998, and in Red Bluff, California, from 1998-2017.   We rarely saw snow fall and it melted quickly in these areas.  We always had to drive up into the mountains, e.g., the San Gabriel or San Gorgonio Mountains in the LA area, or Mt. Lassen or Mt. Shasta in Red Bluff if we wanted to play in and enjoy the snow.

Here in Vancouver, Washington, where we live now, snowing is a more common occurrence.  I think that last year Vancouver had about 8 - 10 inches of snow.  The nearby foothills and mountains (Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Ranier, and Mt. Hood of the Cascades) have lots of snow. 

Last night, about three inches fell as temperatures dropped and the cold front rolled into the Northeast Pacific Coast region.

We live about 500 miles north of Red Bluff, and 300 miles south from Vancouver, Canada.