Photo: Dan Huntington from Anacortes, WA · CC BY-SA 2.0Port Hardy is among the wettest of Canadian towns: 1,911 mm of rain and snow a year
July afternoons average 18.0°C. Of all months, November brings the most precipitation and July the least. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in almost every Canadian town. Plan time outside for July and August, when highs sit at 18°C.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, measured at Port Hardy, 9.5 km south-east.
A year in Port Hardy at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Port Hardy’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Port Hardy feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 47 frosts and 15 warm days a year
The frost season runs October to April, peaking in January at about 10 nights.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,911 mm of rain and snow a year
6th wettest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia. On about 181 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 39 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs November to April; January brings the most, about 13 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Port Hardy
77% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. In heating terms, homes need less heating than 92% of Canadian towns.
Living with Port Hardy’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
About 199 days a year pass without frost, from an average last frost of 19 April to a first of 4 November.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Port Hardy’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Port Hardy
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Port Hardy are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 9.5 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 22 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −11.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 30.0°C |
| Average wind | 11.2 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Addenbroke Island, 101 km |
How Port Hardy 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Port Hardy’s would only repeat its figures. Port Hardy has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 146 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Hardy | 18.0°C | 1.6°C | 1,911 mm |
| Gold River 146 km · Estevan Point | 17.4°C 0.6°C cooler | 3.6°C 2.0°C milder | 3,111 mm |
Port Hardy weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.5°C | 1.6°C | 4.1°C | 240 mm | 13 cm |
| February | 7.2°C | 1.2°C | 4.2°C | 150 mm | 6 cm |
| March | 8.7°C | 1.8°C | 5.3°C | 171 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 11.3°C | 3.4°C | 7.4°C | 119 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 14.2°C | 6.1°C | 10.2°C | 72 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 16.1°C | 8.9°C | 12.5°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 18.0°C | 10.8°C | 14.4°C | 57 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18.4°C | 10.8°C | 14.6°C | 78 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.0°C | 8.8°C | 12.4°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11.8°C | 5.7°C | 8.8°C | 245 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8.3°C | 3.0°C | 5.6°C | 319 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 6.0°C | 1.5°C | 3.8°C | 266 mm | 11 cm |
| Year | 11.9°C | 5.3°C | 8.6°C | 1,911 mm | 39 cm |
From −1.5°C to 26.7°C: May’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
The month to count on least is February: one year in three its average strays more than 1.5°C from 4.2°C. July moves least, typically by 0.6°C.
Where Port Hardy’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Port Hardy, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Port Hardy’s climate
How warm does Port Hardy get in summer?
The warmest month is August, when afternoons average 18.4°C.
How cold does Port Hardy get in winter?
In February, the coldest month, the typical low is 1.2°C.
How much rain and snow does Port Hardy get?
Some 1,911 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in November (319 mm), the least in July (57 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 7 days a year.
Are these figures for Port Hardy itself?
They are: the normals station that gives them stands in Port Hardy.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Port Hardy →
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).