Photo: jasonwoodhead23 · CC BY 2.0Hardly any Canadian towns see harsher January nights than Fort McMurray
Sunny July days climb to about 23.9°C. Precipitation is light here, less than falls on 94% of Canadian towns. Rain or snow is most frequent in June and least in February. Homes need heating from September to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, measured at Fort McMurray, 17 km south-east.
A year in Fort McMurray at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Fort McMurray’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Alberta beside it.
What a year in Fort McMurray feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 211 days, 20°C on 86
Frost comes from September to May; in January almost every night freezes. Some 55 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 405 mm a year
About 81 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 111 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs September to May; January brings the most, about 20 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Fort McMurray
88% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up. A house here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Fort McMurray’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
About 100 days a year pass without frost, from an average last frost of 29 May to a first of 7 September.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 86 days in a normal year.
Summer brings about 9 days when the humidex passes 30.
A typical year is calm by definition; Fort McMurray’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Fort McMurray
Fort McMurray is a composite: ECCC joins 4 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 17 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 369 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −44.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.0°C |
| Average wind | 10.0 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Buffalo Narrows, 211 km |
How Fort McMurray compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Alberta.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Fort McMurray’s would only repeat its figures. Fort McMurray has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 125 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort McMurray | 23.9°C | −22.3°C | 405 mm |
| La Loche 125 km · Buffalo Narrows | 23.0°C 0.9°C cooler | −21.9°C about the same | 459 mm |
Fort McMurray weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −11.9°C | −22.3°C | −17.2°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −7.3°C | −19.9°C | −13.6°C | 13 mm | 19 cm |
| March | 0.1°C | −13.5°C | −6.7°C | 15 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 9.3°C | −3.9°C | 2.7°C | 18 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 17.2°C | 2.6°C | 9.9°C | 31 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 21.7°C | 8.0°C | 14.9°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.9°C | 10.6°C | 17.3°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.2°C | 8.8°C | 15.6°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.2°C | 3.5°C | 9.9°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 7.3°C | −2.5°C | 2.4°C | 26 mm | 8 cm |
| November | −3.2°C | −11.9°C | −7.6°C | 17 mm | 18 cm |
| December | −9.9°C | −19.6°C | −14.8°C | 13 mm | 17 cm |
| Year | 7.1°C | −5.0°C | 1.1°C | 405 mm | 111 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 4.4°C; June the least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −40.9°C in 1995 and a high of 20.1°C in 2004.
Where Fort McMurray’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Fort McMurray, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Fort McMurray’s climate
How warm does Fort McMurray get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 23.9°C.
How cold does Fort McMurray get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −22.3°C.
How much rain and snow does Fort McMurray get?
Some 405 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in June (78 mm), the least in February (13 mm).
Are these figures for Fort McMurray itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Fort McMurray itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Fort McMurray →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).