Photo: CanadianEman · CC BY-SA 3.0

Climate in Fort Nelson · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Few Canadian towns have colder winter nights than Fort Nelson

July afternoons average 23.3°C. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 48°C apart. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 87% of Canadian towns. Expect about 213 frosty starts a year, days when the air falls to freezing.

July afternoons: cooler than 87% of Canadian towns

January nights: colder than almost every Canadian town

Rain and snow a year: drier than 78% of Canadian towns

Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Fort Nelson (7.4 km north-east).

July high

23.3°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

−24.4°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

459 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

193 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

213

a year at 0°C or below

Frost-free days

121

15 May to 14 Sep

A year in Fort Nelson at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan−16°C−24°CColdest nights

Feb−9°C−20°C

Mar−1°C−15°C

Apr10°C−4°C

May17°C3°CLast frost ~15 May

Jun22°C9°C

Jul23°C11°CWarmestWettest

Aug22°C9°C

Sep15°C3°CFirst frost ~14 Sep

Oct6°C−4°C

Nov now−8°C−16°CSnowiest

Dec−14°C−22°C

What stands out about Fort Nelson’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.

A wider year than almost every Canadian townFrom January nights to July afternoons, the year spans 47.7°C.Colder than almost every Canadian townJanuary nights average −24.4°C, the coldest of the year. 255th mildest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.Cooler than 87% of Canadian townsJuly afternoons average 23.3°C, the warmest of the year.

A normal year

What a year in Fort Nelson feels like

Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.

Winter

−13°C / −22°C

58 mm, with 84 cm of snow

Spring

8°C / −5°C

83 mm, with 50 cm of snow

Summer

22°C / 10°C

227 mm of rain and snow, the wettest season

Autumn

4°C / −5°C

91 mm, with 58 cm of snow

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

−16°C−24°C

−9°C−20°C

−1°C−15°C

10°C−4°C

17°C3°C

22°C9°C

23°C11°C

22°C9°C

15°C3°C

6°C−4°C

−8°C−16°C

−14°C−22°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideJunJulAugHighs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more

Frost & warm days

Frost on 213 days, 20°C on 78

The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 71 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.

121 frost-free days · average dates, 1991–2020

15 May 14 Sep

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

213

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

More frosts than 98% of Canadian towns

133

Days that stay below 0°C

Nights a year below −20°C

Days a year above 20°C

Days a year above 30°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

JFMAMJJASOND

Days above 20°C by month

Average days

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

About 459 mm of rain and snow a year

July brings the most rain and snow; April, the least. On about 83 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.

459 mm

Rain and snow a year

Drier than 78% of Canadian towns

317 mm

Of it as rain alone (69%)

81 mm

July, the wettest month

16 mm

April, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

81 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

81 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow

193 cm of snow in a typical year

Snow falls from September to May, most of all in November (about 39 cm).

193 cm

Snowfall a year

Snowier than 70% of Canadian towns

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

179

Days a year with 1 cm or more on the ground

51 cm

Snow on the ground at the end of February, the deepest month

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

39 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Snow on the ground by month

Centimetres at month’s end

51 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Fort Nelson

89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to April.

6,649 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,358 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total. Over a year, a home here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.

Living here

Living with Fort Nelson’s climate

The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.

The garden window

On average the last spring frost comes around 15 May and the first autumn frost around 14 September: about 121 frost-free days between.

Get outside

Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jun, Jul and Aug.

Parks & trails →

Wind chill

A wind chill below −20 is part of about 95 days a year here.

Humidex

Roughly 6 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.

Storms and extremes

Thirty years of averages say little about one bad storm; Fort Nelson’s hazards page does.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Fort Nelson

Fort Nelson is a composite: ECCC joins 4 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.

Distance from the town	7.4 km north-east
Station altitude	382 m
Completeness	at least 25 years
WMO standard normals	No
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−47.3°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	34.6°C
Average wind	6.7 km/h on average, most often from the north-west
Next-nearest location	Fort Liard, 165 km

Compared with other towns

How Fort Nelson 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 British Columbia.

July afternoons23.3°C

Fort NelsonMedian Canadian town

14°C18°C22°C26°C30°C

Cooler than 87% of Canadian towns

January nights−24.4°C

Fort NelsonMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C−5°C0°C5°C

Colder than almost every Canadian town255th mildest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia

Rain and snow a year459 mm

Fort NelsonMedian Canadian town

01,0002,0003,000

Drier than 78% of Canadian towns

Snowfall a year193 cm

Fort NelsonMedian Canadian town

0100200300400500

Snowier than 70% of Canadian towns

Month by month

Fort Nelson weather by month

Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.

Month	High	Low	Mean	Rain & snow	Snow
January	−16.1°C	−24.4°C	−20.3°C	24 mm	33 cm
February	−8.7°C	−20.1°C	−14.4°C	16 mm	24 cm
March	−1.3°C	−14.6°C	−8.0°C	22 mm	31 cm
April	9.6°C	−3.6°C	3.0°C	16 mm	13 cm
May	17.1°C	3.3°C	10.2°C	44 mm	6 cm
June	21.5°C	8.8°C	15.2°C	75 mm	1 cm
July	23.3°C	11.1°C	17.3°C	81 mm	0 cm
August	21.6°C	9.0°C	15.3°C	70 mm	1 cm
September	15.4°C	3.3°C	9.4°C	38 mm	4 cm
October	5.7°C	−3.7°C	1.0°C	24 mm	16 cm
November	−7.9°C	−15.8°C	−11.9°C	29 mm	39 cm
December	−14.4°C	−22.2°C	−18.3°C	18 mm	27 cm
Year	5.5°C	−5.8°C	−0.1°C	459 mm	193 cm

Year to year

The most changeable month: March, give or take 3.8°C; the steadiest, June

Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. January spans the most, from −47.3°C (1996) to 11.6°C (2014).

−50°

−40°

−30°

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Fort Nelson’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Fort Nelson, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
Not on this page: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.

Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Questions about Fort Nelson’s climate

How warm does Fort Nelson get in summer?

Midsummer means July, with afternoons near 23.3°C on a typical day.

How cold does Fort Nelson get in winter?

Overnight lows average −24.4°C in January, the coldest month.

How much rain and snow does Fort Nelson get?

Precipitation totals 459 mm a year, with July the wettest month (81 mm) and April the driest (16 mm).

How long does snow stay on the ground?

Snow cover of 1 cm or more lasts about 179 days in a typical year.

Are these figures for Fort Nelson itself?

Yes. They were measured in Fort Nelson, at ECCC’s own station there.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Fort Nelson →

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).