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Malahat Weather & Road Conditions
Radar and live pavement conditions at the summit of Malahat and on both climbs — plus the six-day summit forecast and the winter tire rule on Highway 1 (Trans-Canada).
Elevation 352 m · Updated Oct 14, 2026 6:05 PM PDT · Mostly dry
Lowest 13°C near Victoria, British Columbia · Highest wind 9 km/h near Victoria, British Columbia
At the summit: Dry · 13°C · road surface est. 10°C · 5 km/h wind · gusting 14 km/h
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The Malahat is Highway 1 over the Malahat ridge between Goldstream and Mill Bay on Vancouver Island, 352 m at the summit and the only road link between Greater Victoria and the rest of the island — when it closes, the alternatives are the small Mill Bay ferry or the long way round. Low by BC standards, it is still a designated winter tire route, and snow that never reaches Victoria reaches the summit.
- Elevation: 352 m (1,155 ft)
- Carries: Highway 1 (Trans-Canada)
- Province: British Columbia
- Winter tire route: Yes, October 1 – April 30
Weather data from Oct 14, 2026 6:05 PM PDT
13°C
15°C
9 km/h
102.6-102.9 kPa
3 current reports along the route. The 1 most serious are listed below. Always check with DriveBC before setting off.
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Lanes blocked
Road work on Highway 1, Trans-Canada Highway
Utility work from Highway 1, 100m South of Aspen Road to At Malahat Frtg. Starting Wed Sep 30 until Fri Oct 16. From 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM PDT the next day, weekdays. Right lane closed. Last update: September 16th, 2026 at 3:46pm PDT.
Malahat Winter Tire & Chain-Up Requirements
Malahat is on a designated winter tire and chain route. Winter tires are required on it every year from October 1 to April 30, whatever the forecast on the day, and commercial vehicles carry chains and put them on at the chain-up signs. What is in force right now — a chain-up in effect, a closure — this page does not carry; DriveBC ↗ is the authority before you set off. The rule in full, with the fines and the exceptions, is on the British Columbia page.
What this page can tell you is the surface at the summit, from radar and surface analysis: currently dry, with the road surface estimated at 10°C. The road surface figure is an estimate derived from air temperature, not a measurement — bridges and overpasses run colder than the number shown.
Malahat Weather Forecast: Next 6 Days
At the summit, 352 m. Each day shows its warmest and coldest hour, and the worst driving conditions forecast anywhere in it — not the average, because the hour that closes a pass is the one worth knowing about.
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Rest of today Oct 14
11°C 9°C
Wet
Wind to 5 km/h
-
Thu Oct 15
17°C 8°C
Wet
Wind to 8 km/h
-
Fri Oct 16
20°C 10°C
Dry
Wind to 7 km/h
-
Sat Oct 17
16°C 8°C
Wet worst around 2 AM
Wind to 22 km/h
6.4 mm precipitation -
Sun Oct 18
13°C 5°C
Wet worst around 11 PM
Wind to 11 km/h
0.6 mm precipitation -
Mon Oct 19
13°C 6°C
Wet
Wind to 10 km/h
0.1 mm precipitation
Forecast, not a measurement — from the same weather service that draws this page's radar and road colors, model run 7 hours ago. Days run on Pacific time, the clock the pass keeps — not the reader's.
Why Malahat closes
Crashes, not weather. The Malahat is the only road between Greater Victoria and the rest of Vancouver Island, two and three lanes with a concrete median for much of it, and when a collision or a vehicle fire blocks it — as one did near Goldstream Park on 27 May 2026 — both directions stop, because there is nowhere for the traffic to go. Snow does close it a few times a winter, and the storm of November 2021 damaged it at Tunnel Hill enough for a week of overnight closures.
When it is closed the alternatives are not roads in the usual sense: the Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay ferry, on a daytime timetable, or the Pacific Marine route through Port Renfrew, hours longer and partly gravel.
The dated closures, with the province's own releases for each, are on the Highway 1 page.
Malahat by the month
Thirty-year normals from the nearest Environment and Climate Change Canada station with a full record: Sooke Lake North, 7 km away. Averages for 1981–2010; a normal month, not this month.
| Month | Snowfall (cm) | Days with snow | Mean low (°C) | Nights ≤ 0 °C | Snow on the ground (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 3 | — | — | 3 |
| Feb | 15 | 3 | — | — | 2 |
| Mar | 7 | 1 | — | — | 0 |
| Apr | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Jun | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Jul | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Aug | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Sep | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Oct | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Nov | 11 | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Dec | 16 | 4 | — | — | 2 |
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010, station SOOKE LAKE NORTH (1017563), 231 m, through the MSC GeoMet API.
Malahat Road Weather FAQ
- Is Malahat open right now?
- No full closures are reported on Malahat as of Oct 14, 2026 6:46 PM PDT. 3 lane closures, roadworks or restrictions are in force. They are listed under closures and road blocks on this page.
- What are Malahat road conditions today?
- The map on this page colors the route along Malahat by what is on the pavement right now — dry, wet, slush, snow or ice — from radar and surface data, last updated Oct 14, 2026 6:05 PM PDT. Right now temperatures run from 13°C to 15°C and the strongest wind is 9 km/h.
- Do I need chains on Malahat today?
- In a car, no. Malahat is on a designated winter tire route: winter tires are required on it from October 1 to April 30, and chains are what commercial vehicles carry and put on at the chain-up signs. A chain-up in effect or a closure is posted on the signs and on DriveBC. What this page can tell you is that the surface at the summit is dry, and the road surface is estimated at 10°C.
- What is the weather forecast for Malahat this week?
- At the summit, Oct 14 to Oct 19: highs 11-20°C, lows 5-10°C. No snow or ice is forecast on the road in that time. It is a forecast rather than a measurement, and the later days are less certain than the earlier ones.
- How often are Malahat road conditions updated?
- The road surface and weather layers are rebuilt whenever this page is opened with data more than ten minutes old, and refreshed on a schedule in between, so nothing here is more than about two hours old even on a road nobody has looked at. Closures and road blocks are re-imported from DriveBC every fifteen minutes. Every section on this page carries the time its data was fetched.
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