George: I would assume that being a couple of miles inland would greatly improve your weather over being right on the coast. That is the way it is here, anyway. For example, coastal properties here can't grow tomatoes due to a lack of heat, where two miles inland they can. With you not having as much fog as the coast it a huge benefit for heat generation.

My comments on comparing the climate here were partly in response to your saying "likely the most obvious (difference) is that our dry season is probably longer". I assume you mean longer summer dry season. That would be because as the jet stream slips down the coast (as high pressure weakens) in fall we would be hit first. My point was that unlike the outer coast we are spared much of the rain in the fall and spring as the cloud gets caught up on the Olympic Mountains. In fact the clear skies that this creates means we have an earlier first average frost than Vancouver (BC) even though our mean temperatures are higher.

So in summary, Victoria and surrounding area have a unique climate compared to the rest of the west coast. There are some Puget Sound islands that have a similar climate as Victoria for the same reasons, as do some of Gulf Islands in BC (to a lesser extent). It all has to do with geography. I should mention that weather and climate data for Victoria come from the Victoria airport (YYJ). Because this is a 20 min drive north from the city, moving away from the rain shadow, it is wetter and often colder.

Due to the rain shadow, Victoria is sunnier than surrounding cities in summer. This, along with a lack of persistent wind, make it warmer than you might expect if you go inland a bit away from the water. We regularly experience a 5°C (higher) difference between the coast and our home, which is a couple miles inland. I gauge this by our car's thermometer.

We have a native cactus that grows in our area. It is low to the ground and doesn't look like much. I only mention it to point out the difference in rainfall from the outer coast.

BTW: What is your most tender palm you are growing?