Photo: Asahel Curtis · Public domainDry weather: only 510 mm of rain and snow a year falls on Quesnel, less than on 75% of Canadian towns
Expect July afternoons of about 24.5°C. Summers stay cool: July afternoons here are cooler than in 67% of Canadian towns. A year here swings 35°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 103 times a year.
Measured at Quesnel, 5.8 km north: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Quesnel at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Quesnel’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in British Columbia beside it.
What a year in Quesnel feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
177 frost days and 96 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from September to May; in December almost every night freezes. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 13 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 510 mm a year
July brings the most rain and snow; February, the least.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
About 176 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs October to May; December brings the most, about 42 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Snowfall: Williams Lake, 94 km away (Quesnel records no complete year of it).
Heating a home in Quesnel
86% 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.
Living with Quesnel’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
From about 22 May to 19 September the garden is usually clear of frost, some 119 days.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 17 days a year.
The humidex tops 30 on about 12 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
Severe weather is a separate story from the averages: see Quesnel’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Quesnel
Quesnel is a composite: ECCC joins 4 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 5.8 km north |
| Station altitude | 545 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Williams Lake, 94 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −41.9°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Average wind | 5.9 km/h on average, most often from the south-east |
| Next-nearest location | Williams Lake, 94 km |
How Quesnel 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 Quesnel’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 91–97 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Quesnel.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quesnel | 24.5°C | −10.8°C | 510 mm |
| Electoral Area D, Cariboo 91 km · Williams Lake | 22.7°C 1.8°C cooler | −10.9°C about the same | 463 mm |
| Electoral Area D, Fraser-Fort George 96 km · Prince George | 22.6°C 1.9°C cooler | −11.7°C 0.9°C colder | 590 mm |
Quesnel 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 | −2.7°C | −10.8°C | −6.8°C | 42 mm | 41 cm |
| February | 0.9°C | −9.0°C | −4.1°C | 22 mm | 20 cm |
| March | 6.9°C | −5.2°C | 0.8°C | 27 mm | 21 cm |
| April | 13.2°C | −1.0°C | 6.1°C | 26 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 19.0°C | 3.6°C | 11.3°C | 37 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 21.8°C | 7.5°C | 14.7°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.5°C | 9.5°C | 17.0°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.2°C | 8.5°C | 16.4°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.6°C | 4.8°C | 11.7°C | 46 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 10.8°C | 0.2°C | 5.5°C | 51 mm | 9 cm |
| November | 2.8°C | −4.5°C | −0.8°C | 45 mm | 31 cm |
| December | −2.1°C | −9.6°C | −5.8°C | 43 mm | 42 cm |
| Year | 11.5°C | −0.5°C | 5.5°C | 510 mm | 176 cm |
A January here can run from −41.9°C to 11.8°C
Two years in three, February’s average falls within 4.1°C of its normal of −4.1°C; July keeps to within 1.0°C.
Where Quesnel’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Quesnel: the nearest of its locations with every month’s 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: all Canadian places of 2,500 or more except city totals and reserves, each read the same way.
- 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 Quesnel’s climate
How warm does Quesnel get in summer?
Peak warmth comes in July, at about 24.5°C by mid-afternoon.
How cold does Quesnel get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −10.8°C.
How much rain and snow does Quesnel get?
510 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is July (68 mm); the driest, February (22 mm).
Are these figures for Quesnel itself?
Yes, from ECCC’s station within Quesnel’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Quesnel →
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).