Photo: CPG1100 · CC BY-SA 4.0Prince George has some of the coolest summers among Canadian towns
The coldest hours of a January night bottom out at −11.7°C on average. Precipitation peaks in June and eases off in March. By frosts alone, it ranks colder than 73% of Canadian towns. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 116 days a year with 1 mm or more.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Prince George station, 7.5 km south-east.
A year in Prince George at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Prince George’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Prince George feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 184 days, 20°C on 75
From September to May frost is routine, and in December it comes on almost every night. Some 17 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
590 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
204 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from October to May, most of all in January (about 53 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Prince George
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. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 64% of Canadian towns.
Living with Prince George’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Count on about 107 frost-free days: the last frost averages 22 May, the first 7 September.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 27 days a year.
On some 5 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Prince George’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Prince George
ECCC builds the Prince George normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 7.5 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 691 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.6°C |
| Average wind | 10.0 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Quesnel, 100 km |
How Prince George 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 Prince George’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 96–113 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Prince George.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prince George | 22.6°C | −11.7°C | 590 mm |
| Electoral Area B, Cariboo 96 km · Quesnel | 24.5°C 1.9°C warmer | −10.8°C 0.9°C milder | 510 mm |
| Fort St. James 113 km · Burns Lake Decker Lake | 22.1°C 0.5°C cooler | −14.8°C 3.1°C colder | 609 mm |
Prince George 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 | −3.9°C | −11.7°C | −7.8°C | 50 mm | 53 cm |
| February | −0.7°C | −10.0°C | −5.4°C | 31 mm | 26 cm |
| March | 4.8°C | −6.2°C | −0.7°C | 29 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 11.1°C | −1.3°C | 4.9°C | 37 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 17.2°C | 3.3°C | 10.3°C | 45 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 20.2°C | 7.2°C | 13.7°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22.6°C | 9.1°C | 15.9°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 22.2°C | 8.0°C | 15.1°C | 47 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 16.9°C | 4.0°C | 10.4°C | 55 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 9.2°C | −0.6°C | 4.4°C | 66 mm | 10 cm |
| November | 1.3°C | −5.5°C | −2.1°C | 57 mm | 35 cm |
| December | −3.0°C | −10.3°C | −6.7°C | 41 mm | 47 cm |
| Year | 9.8°C | −1.2°C | 4.3°C | 590 mm | 204 cm |
In January, anything from −46.1°C to 11.3°C
February is the least predictable month: about two years in three its average lands within 4.4°C of the normal, −5.4°C. July is the steadiest, within 1.0°C.
Where Prince George’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Prince George, 1991–2020.
- 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, 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 Prince George’s climate
How warm does Prince George get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 22.6°C.
How cold does Prince George get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −11.7°C.
How much rain and snow does Prince George get?
Precipitation totals 590 mm a year, with June the wettest month (68 mm) and March the driest (29 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Around 120 days a year see 1 cm of snow or more lying.
Are these figures for Prince George itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Prince George itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Prince George →
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).