How B.C.' s Winter Games climate fares against Italy and past hosts
We provide a detailed weather breakdown for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. Explore the climate comparisons between host venues like Milan and Cortina, as well as past host cities.
The Winter Games are back in Italy for the second time in 20 years.
The Po Valley is home to both Milan and Turin, which have very similar climates to Vancouver, B.C.
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All three locales are in the middle of the pack on the list of February mean temperatures for host cities for the Winter Games in the past 30 years. Sochi, Russia, is the mildest at 6.5°C, while Pyeongchang, South Korea, is the coldest at -4.6°C.
Weather plays the biggest role in the ski events, which are often held outside of the main city.
Whistler, B.C., and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, would be the two cities to compare for the 2026 and 2010 games. Here is how they measure up.
Whistler is more chaotic from winter to winter due to the influence of El Niño and La Niña.
For this year’s Winter Games, it’s looking like an ideal start with temperatures trending below normal in the Alps for the first week of the games. That will follow a significant winter storm in the days heading up to the opening ceremonies.
Much like Vancouver and Whistler, the big city can see days of rain while the mountain town is in a winter wonderland--which is the case for Milan and Cortina, as well.
Thumbnail courtesy of Maximilian Ruther/Pexels.