months are also relatively mild, with an average high temperature of and low of , although inland areas often experience warmer daytime highs. The highest temperature ever recorded at Victoria Gonzales was on 28 June 2021; The coldest temperature on record is on 29 December 1968. The average annual temperature varies from a high of set in 2004 to a low of set in 1916. Due to the rain shadow effect of the nearby Olympic Mountains, Victoria is the driest location on the British Columbia coast and one of the driest in the region. Average precipitation amounts in the Greater Victoria area range from at the Gonzales observatory in the City of Victoria to in nearby Langford. The Victoria Airport, north of the city, receives about 45% more precipitation than the city proper. Regional average precipitation amounts range from as low as on the north shore of the Olympic Peninsula to in Port Renfrew just away on the more exposed southwest coast of Vancouver Island. Vancouver measures annually and Seattle is at . One feature of Victoria's climate is its distinct dry and rainy seasons. Nearly two-thirds of the annual precipitation falls during the four wettest months, November to February. Precipitation in December, the wettest month () is nearly eight times as high as in July, the driest month (). Victoria experiences the driest summers in Canada (outside of the extreme northern reaches of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Victoria averages just of snow annually, about half that of Vancouver. Roughly one third of winters see virtually no snow, with less than falling during the entire season. When snow does fall, it rarely lasts long on the ground. Victoria averages just two or three days per year with at least of snow on the ground. Every few decades Victoria receives very large snowfalls including the record breaking of snow that fell in December 1996. That amount places Victoria 3rd for biggest snowfall among major cities in Canada. With 2,193 hours of bright sunshine annually during the last available measurement period, Victoria was the second sunniest city in British Columbia after Cranbrook. In July 2013, Victoria received 432.8 hours of bright sunshine, which is the most sunshine ever recorded in any month in British Columbia history. Victoria's equable climate has also added to its reputation as the "City of Gardens". The city takes pride in the many flowers that bloom during