Photo: William Matheson · CC BY-SA 2.0Houston is among the frostiest of Canadian towns
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 22.1°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 97% of Canadian towns. October is the wettest month, March the driest. Homes need heating from September to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
Borrowed figures: Houston has no normals station, so these come from Burns Lake Decker Lake, 45 km east.
A year in Houston at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Houston’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Houston feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
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
About 105 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Burns Lake Decker Lake publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, so these figures, and the snow below, come from Smithers, 59 km away.
About 184 cm of snow a year
From October to April snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 48 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Heating a home in Houston
81% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months. Homes here need more heating than 93% of Canadian towns.
Living with Houston’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Even midsummer nights fall below 8°C on average, so no month meets the mild-day rule of 17–27°C by day.
Parks & trails →Roughly 25 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
The air feels heavier than 30 on the humidex for about 4 days a year.
A typical year is calm by definition; Houston’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
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 | 45 km east |
| Station altitude | 713 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Smithers, 59 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, 59 km |
How Houston 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
Places around Houston whose figures come from another normals location. Houston has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 42 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Burns Lake Decker Lake | 22.1°C | −14.8°C | 506 mm |
| Telkwa 42 km · Smithers | 21.8°C about the same | −10.9°C 3.9°C milder | 506 mm |
Houston weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −4.3°C | −14.8°C | −9.6°C | 42 mm | 41 cm |
| February | −0.2°C | −14.4°C | −7.4°C | 24 mm | 25 cm |
| March | 4.4°C | −9.9°C | −2.8°C | 20 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 10.2°C | −4.6°C | 2.8°C | 27 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 16.3°C | −0.3°C | 8.0°C | 39 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19.4°C | 3.6°C | 11.5°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.1°C | 5.2°C | 13.5°C | 44 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 21.3°C | 4.0°C | 12.7°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.9°C | 0.6°C | 8.8°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 8.8°C | −3.0°C | 2.9°C | 66 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 0.8°C | −8.2°C | −3.7°C | 54 mm | 38 cm |
| December | −4.3°C | −14.1°C | −9.3°C | 44 mm | 48 cm |
| Year | 9.3°C | −4.7°C | 2.3°C | 506 mm | 184 cm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.7°C; the steadiest month is June
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than March, between −34.7°C (2003) and 21.4°C (2016).
Where Houston’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Burns Lake Decker Lake, its nearest location with complete 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: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Houston’s climate
How warm does Houston get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 22.1°C.
How cold does Houston get in winter?
Expect nights around −14.8°C in January; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Houston get?
Precipitation totals 506 mm a year, with October the wettest month (66 mm) and March the driest (20 mm).
Are these figures for Houston itself?
They come from Burns Lake Decker Lake, which ECCC uses as the nearest normals location for Houston.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Houston →
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).