Few Canadian towns get more frosts than Burns Lake
High summer brings afternoon highs near 22.1°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 97% of Canadian towns. October is the wettest month here, with about 3.4 times the rain and snow of March. Plan for rain or snow on about 105 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Burns Lake Decker Lake (21 km north-west).
A year in Burns Lake at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Burns Lake’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Burns Lake feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 246 frosts and 65 warm days a year
Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 26 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 506 mm a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Burns Lake Decker Lake publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Smithers, 114 km away.
Heating a home in Burns Lake
81% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C. Homes here need more heating than 93% of Canadian towns.
Living with Burns Lake’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
No month here brings highs of 17–27°C together with nights of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Expect around 25 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
A humidex above 30 marks about 4 days in a normal year.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Burns Lake’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Burns Lake Decker Lake
Burns Lake Decker Lake is one of the 450 places where ECCC publishes 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 21 km north-west |
| Station altitude | 713 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Smithers, 114 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −44.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.6°C |
| Average wind | 4.3 km/h on average, most often from the north-west |
| Next-nearest location | Smithers, 114 km |
How Burns Lake compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Burns Lake whose figures come from another normals location. The nearest places to Burns Lake with figures are 98–116 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burns Lake Burns Lake Decker Lake | 22.1°C | −14.8°C | 506 mm |
| Telkwa 98 km · Smithers | 21.8°C about the same | −10.9°C 3.9°C milder | 506 mm |
| Vanderhoof 116 km · Prince George | 22.6°C 0.5°C warmer | −11.7°C 3.1°C milder | 590 mm |
Burns Lake weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4.3°C | −14.8°C | −9.6°C | 42 mm |
| February | −0.2°C | −14.4°C | −7.4°C | 24 mm |
| March | 4.4°C | −9.9°C | −2.8°C | 20 mm |
| April | 10.2°C | −4.6°C | 2.8°C | 27 mm |
| May | 16.3°C | −0.3°C | 8.0°C | 39 mm |
| June | 19.4°C | 3.6°C | 11.5°C | 51 mm |
| July | 22.1°C | 5.2°C | 13.5°C | 44 mm |
| August | 21.3°C | 4.0°C | 12.7°C | 45 mm |
| September | 16.9°C | 0.6°C | 8.8°C | 49 mm |
| October | 8.8°C | −3.0°C | 2.9°C | 66 mm |
| November | 0.8°C | −8.2°C | −3.7°C | 54 mm |
| December | −4.3°C | −14.1°C | −9.3°C | 44 mm |
| Year | 9.3°C | −4.7°C | 2.3°C | 506 mm |
February varies most from one year to the next (3.7°C), June least
Over 1991–2020, March saw both −34.7°C (2003) and 21.4°C (2016), the widest span of any month.
Where Burns Lake’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Burns Lake Decker Lake, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Other locations: a location missing months of precipitation or snow is filled from the nearest that has them all, never mixed month by month.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: a snowfall figure (none within 100 km), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Burns Lake’s climate
How warm does Burns Lake get in summer?
Afternoons average 22.1°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Burns Lake get in winter?
Deep winter means January, when nights average −14.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Burns Lake get?
Some 506 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in October (66 mm), the least in March (20 mm).
Are these figures for Burns Lake itself?
Nearly: Burns Lake Decker Lake, the location behind them, sits just beyond Burns Lake’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Burns Lake →
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).