Few Canadian towns get more frosts than Fort St. James
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 22.1°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 97% of Canadian towns. Of all months, November brings the most precipitation and April the least. Have the furnace checked before September to May, the months that average under 10°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location is Burns Lake Decker Lake, 110 km west: at that distance its figures describe the region more than Fort St. James itself.
A year in Fort St. James at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Fort St. James’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Fort St. James feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
246 frost days and 65 days above 20°C a year
On about 26 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 609 mm of rain and snow a year
On about 116 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Precipitation: Mackenzie, 120 km away (Burns Lake Decker Lake records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Fort St. James
81% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total. Homes here need more heating than 93% of Canadian towns.
Living with Fort St. James’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Summer nights stay cool here: no month pairs 17–27°C afternoons with 8°C nights.
Parks & trails →Plan for about 25 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
A humidex above 30 marks about 4 days in a normal year.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Fort St. James’s hazards page covers them.
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 | 110 km west |
| Station altitude | 713 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Mackenzie, 120 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 | Mackenzie, 120 km |
How Fort St. James compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in British Columbia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Fort St. James’s own would show the same figures). Fort St. James has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 50 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort St. James Burns Lake Decker Lake | 22.1°C | −14.8°C | 609 mm |
| Vanderhoof 50 km · Prince George | 22.6°C 0.5°C warmer | −11.7°C 3.1°C milder | 590 mm |
Fort St. James weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4.3°C | −14.8°C | −9.6°C | 63 mm |
| February | −0.2°C | −14.4°C | −7.4°C | 34 mm |
| March | 4.4°C | −9.9°C | −2.8°C | 37 mm |
| April | 10.2°C | −4.6°C | 2.8°C | 29 mm |
| May | 16.3°C | −0.3°C | 8.0°C | 32 mm |
| June | 19.4°C | 3.6°C | 11.5°C | 59 mm |
| July | 22.1°C | 5.2°C | 13.5°C | 54 mm |
| August | 21.3°C | 4.0°C | 12.7°C | 52 mm |
| September | 16.9°C | 0.6°C | 8.8°C | 50 mm |
| October | 8.8°C | −3.0°C | 2.9°C | 65 mm |
| November | 0.8°C | −8.2°C | −3.7°C | 70 mm |
| December | −4.3°C | −14.1°C | −9.3°C | 64 mm |
| Year | 9.3°C | −4.7°C | 2.3°C | 609 mm |
From −34.7°C to 21.4°C: March’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
From one year to the next, February’s average typically shifts by 3.7°C around its normal of −7.4°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.0°C.
Where Fort St. James’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Burns Lake Decker Lake, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- 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: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- Not on this page: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Fort St. James’s climate
How warm does Fort St. James get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 22.1°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Fort St. James get in winter?
Expect nights around −14.8°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Fort St. James get?
November is the wettest month at 70 mm and April the driest at 29 mm, for 609 mm over the year.
Are these figures for Fort St. James itself?
No. The nearest normals are those of Burns Lake Decker Lake, a long way from Fort St. James.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Fort St. James →
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).