Photo: Sam Beebe · CC BY 2.0

Climate in Prince Rupert · ECCC 1991–2020 normals

Few Canadian towns have cooler summers than Prince Rupert

January nights here settle around 2.2°C. Counting rain and snow together, it is wetter than almost every Canadian town. Seasons differ by 13°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Plan for rain or snow on about 204 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.

July afternoons: cooler than almost every Canadian town

January nights: milder than 98% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year: wetter than almost every Canadian town

These are not Prince Rupert’s own readings: ECCC keeps no normals there, so the page uses Holland Rock, 16 km south.

July high

14.5°C

Typical Canadian town 25.5°C

January low

2.2°C

Typical Canadian town −13.5°C

Rain & snow a year

2,143 mm

Typical Canadian town 883 mm

Snowfall a year

30 cm

Typical Canadian town 141 cm

Frost days

a year at 0°C or below

A year in Prince Rupert at a glance

Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.

Jan6°C2°CColdest nightsSnowiest

Feb6°C2°C

Mar7°C3°C

Apr9°C5°C

May11°C7°C

Jun13°C10°C

Jul15°C11°C

Aug15°C12°CWarmest

Sep14°C10°C

Oct11°C8°C

Nov now9°C5°C

Dec7°C3°CWettest

What stands out about Prince Rupert’s climate

Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.

A narrower year than almost every Canadian townFrom January nights to July afternoons, the year spans 12.3°C.Cooler than almost every Canadian townJuly afternoons average 14.5°C; August is warmer still. 255th warmest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.Less snowy than almost every Canadian townAbout 30 cm of snow falls in a year, most of it in January. 251st snowiest of 252 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.

A normal year

What a year in Prince Rupert feels like

Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.

Winter

6°C / 2°C

697 mm, with 22 cm of snow: the wettest season

Spring

9°C / 5°C

454 mm of rain and snow

Summer

14°C / 11°C

315 mm of rain and snow

Autumn

11°C / 8°C

677 mm of rain and snow

−5°

0°

5°

10°

15°

20°

6°C2°C

7°C3°C

9°C5°C

11°C7°C

13°C10°C

15°C11°C

15°C12°C

14°C10°C

11°C8°C

9°C5°C

7°C3°C

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Best months to be outsideNo month has highs of 17°C or more with nights of 8°C or more: summers here are cool.

Frost & warm days

26 frost days and 2 days above 20°C a year

Frosts fall from November to March; January has the most, about 7.

Frost days a year (0°C or below)

Fewer frosts than 98% of Canadian towns

Days that stay below 0°C

Days a year above 20°C

Frost days by month

Average days at 0°C or below

7.1

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain & snow

Rain and melted snow: about 2,143 mm a year

December brings the most rain and snow; July, the least. 5th wettest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.

2,143 mm

Rain and snow a year

Wetter than almost every Canadian town

2,113 mm

Of it as rain alone (99%)

288 mm

December, the wettest month

93 mm

July, the driest month

Rain and snow by month

Millimetres

288 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Rain alone by month

Millimetres

282 mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Holland Rock publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, so these figures, and the snow below, come from Bonilla Island, 94 km away.

Snow

30 cm of snow in a typical year

Snow falls from November to March, most of all in January (about 8 cm). 251st snowiest of 252 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia.

30 cm

Snowfall a year

Less snowy than almost every Canadian town

Days a year with 0.2 cm of snow or more

Snowfall by month

Centimetres

8 cm

JFMAMJJASOND

Heating

Heating a home in Prince Rupert

73% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.

3,538 heating degree days (below 18°C)a year, 1991–2020

1,417 growing degree days (above 5°C)a year, 1991–2020

Warm days count for nothing; each colder day adds how far its mean sits below 18°C. Homes here need less heating than 88% of Canadian towns.

Living here

Living with Prince Rupert’s climate

The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.

Get outside

Summer nights stay cool here: no month pairs 17–27°C afternoons with 8°C nights.

Parks & trails →

Storms and extremes

What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Prince Rupert’s hazards page.

Flood & hazards →

Weather station

ECCC’s normals location: Holland Rock

The page’s figures are ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals for Holland Rock, one of its 450 normals locations.

Distance from the town	16 km south
Station altitude	6 m
Completeness	at least 20 years
WMO standard normals	No
Precipitation from	Bonilla Island, 94 km
Coldest reading, 1991–2020	−16.5°C
Hottest reading, 1991–2020	26.5°C
Average wind	20.0 km/h on average, most often from the south-east
Next-nearest location	Bonilla Island, 94 km

Compared with other towns

How Prince Rupert 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.

July afternoons14.5°C

Prince RupertMedian Canadian town

14°C18°C22°C26°C30°C

Cooler than almost every Canadian town255th warmest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia

January nights2.2°C

Prince RupertMedian Canadian town

−25°C−20°C−15°C−10°C−5°C0°C5°C

Milder than 98% of Canadian towns

Rain and snow a year2,143 mm

Prince RupertMedian Canadian town

01,0002,0003,000

Wetter than almost every Canadian town5th wettest of 255 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia

Snowfall a year30 cm

Prince RupertMedian Canadian town

0100200300400500

Less snowy than almost every Canadian town251st snowiest of 252 towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia

Next door

Nearby towns’ climate

Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Prince Rupert’s own would show the same figures). Prince Rupert has no close neighbour with figures; the nearest is 112 km away.

Town	July high	January low	Rain & snow
Prince Rupert Holland Rock	14.5°C	2.2°C	2,143 mm
Kitimat 112 km · Terrace	21.5°C 7.0°C warmer	−5.3°C 7.5°C colder	1,338 mm

Month by month

Prince Rupert 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	6.2°C	2.2°C	4.2°C	230 mm	8 cm
February	6.3°C	2.3°C	4.4°C	179 mm	7 cm
March	6.7°C	2.6°C	4.6°C	187 mm	7 cm
April	8.9°C	4.7°C	6.9°C	156 mm	under 1 cm
May	11.1°C	7.2°C	9.2°C	111 mm	0 cm
June	13.0°C	9.5°C	11.3°C	101 mm	0 cm
July	14.5°C	11.3°C	12.9°C	93 mm	0 cm
August	15.2°C	11.7°C	13.5°C	122 mm	0 cm
September	14.0°C	10.3°C	12.2°C	171 mm	0 cm
October	11.3°C	7.5°C	9.4°C	240 mm	under 1 cm
November	8.5°C	4.7°C	6.6°C	266 mm	2 cm
December	6.5°C	2.5°C	4.5°C	288 mm	7 cm
Year	10.2°C	6.4°C	8.3°C	2,143 mm	30 cm

Year to year

Two years in three, January’s average lands within 2.1°C of normal, against the steadier July

Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than January, between −16.5°C (2012) and 16.4°C (2018).

−20°

−10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Record low to record high, 1991–2020Normal

Sources

Where Prince Rupert’s numbers come from

Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.

Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Holland Rock, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
Comparisons: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
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 Prince Rupert’s climate

How warm does Prince Rupert get in summer?

A normal August afternoon tops out at about 15.2°C, the year’s high point.

How cold does Prince Rupert get in winter?

Of all twelve months, January has the coldest nights, about 2.2°C.

How much rain and snow does Prince Rupert get?

The yearly total is about 2,143 mm. December gets 288 mm, the most of any month; July gets 93 mm, the least.

Are these figures for Prince Rupert itself?

No, they come from Holland Rock; ECCC keeps no 1991–2020 normals in Prince Rupert itself.

Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Prince Rupert →

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).