Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0Hardly any Canadian towns see fresher July days than Kitimat
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −5.3°C on average. Rain and snow together come to more here than on 93% of Canadian towns. November is the wettest month, June the driest. Garden chairs stay out from June to August, the months with highs of 19–22°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location to Kitimat is Terrace, 46 km north, and every figure on this page is its.
A year in Kitimat at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Kitimat’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Kitimat feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 118 frosts and 55 warm days a year
The frost season runs October to April, peaking in December at about 26 nights. About 4 days a year top 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,338 mm of rain and snow a year
Some 161 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 328 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from October to April, most of all in January (about 92 cm). 2nd snowiest of 252 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Kitimat
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total. That means homes here need less heating than 66% of Canadian towns.
Living with Kitimat’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 25 April to about 17 October, some 174 days in a normal year.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Expect around 12 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
Count on some 7 humid days a year with the humidex past 30.
A typical year is calm by definition; Kitimat’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Terrace
ECCC builds the Terrace normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 46 km north |
| Station altitude | 217 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −24.6°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.3°C |
| Average wind | 13.2 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Holland Rock, 112 km |
How Kitimat 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.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Kitimat’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Kitimat with figures are 112–135 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitimat Terrace | 21.5°C | −5.3°C | 1,338 mm |
| Prince Rupert 112 km · Holland Rock | 14.5°C 7.0°C cooler | 2.2°C 7.5°C milder | 2,143 mm |
| Telkwa 125 km · Smithers | 21.8°C about the same | −10.9°C 5.6°C colder | 506 mm |
| Houston 135 km · Burns Lake Decker Lake | 22.1°C 0.6°C warmer | −14.8°C 9.5°C colder | 506 mm |
Kitimat weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.4°C | −5.3°C | −3.3°C | 178 mm | 92 cm |
| February | 1.6°C | −3.5°C | −1.0°C | 103 mm | 47 cm |
| March | 5.6°C | −1.3°C | 2.1°C | 90 mm | 35 cm |
| April | 11.0°C | 1.8°C | 6.4°C | 66 mm | 5 cm |
| May | 16.4°C | 5.8°C | 11.2°C | 55 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19.1°C | 9.3°C | 14.3°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 21.5°C | 11.7°C | 16.6°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 21.4°C | 11.6°C | 16.5°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.1°C | 8.3°C | 12.2°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 9.1°C | 3.6°C | 6.4°C | 183 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 3.0°C | −0.7°C | 1.2°C | 190 mm | 55 cm |
| December | −0.4°C | −3.9°C | −2.1°C | 178 mm | 90 cm |
| Year | 10.3°C | 3.1°C | 6.7°C | 1,338 mm | 328 cm |
March has run from −19.4°C to 20.8°C in thirty years
Year to year, January varies most (a standard deviation of 2.9°C around −3.3°C) and October least (0.8°C).
Where Kitimat’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Terrace, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: the 2,500-plus towns and neighbourhoods of Canada, each read from its closest normals location; whole cities and reserves aren’t counted.
- Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of 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 Kitimat’s climate
How warm does Kitimat get in summer?
Afternoons average 21.5°C in July, the warmest time of year.
How cold does Kitimat get in winter?
In January, the coldest month, the typical low is −5.3°C.
How much rain and snow does Kitimat get?
Measured as water, a year brings 1,338 mm: 190 mm in November, the wettest month, and 52 mm in June, the driest.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Count on about 90 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.
Are these figures for Kitimat itself?
They describe Terrace, the nearest normals location, rather than Kitimat itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Kitimat →
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).