Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Carbonear has some of the coolest summers among Canadian towns
Nights in January average −7.8°C. Temperatures cover 29°C across the year, low to high. Counting rain and snow together, it is wetter than 98% of Canadian towns. Heating does most of its work from October to May, in months below 10°C on average.
Borrowed figures: Carbonear has no normals station, so these come from St. John's (Airport), 38 km east.
A year in Carbonear at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Carbonear’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Newfoundland and Labrador beside it.
What a year in Carbonear feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
164 frost days and 55 days above 20°C a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,539 mm of precipitation in a typical year
December is the wettest month and June the driest. 5th wettest of 32 towns of 2,500+ in Newfoundland and Labrador. On about 162 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
363 cm of snow in a typical year
From October to May snow is likely; January is the peak, at about 95 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Carbonear
81% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C.
Living with Carbonear’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 28 May to about 18 October, some 142 days in a normal year.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →The wind chill passes −20 on about 19 days in a normal year.
The humidex tops 30 on about 11 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
Storms, floods and heat waves sit outside these normals; Carbonear’s hazards page covers them.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: St. John's (Airport)
ECCC builds the St. John's (Airport) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 38 km east |
| Station altitude | 141 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −22.4°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 31.2°C |
| Average wind | 22.0 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | St. John's (West), 42 km |
How Carbonear compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Carbonear whose figures come from another normals location.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbonear St. John's (Airport) | 20.9°C | −7.8°C | 1,539 mm |
| Victoria 3.6 km · St. John's (Airport) | 20.9°C about the same | −7.8°C about the same | 1,539 mm |
| Upper Island Cove 9.6 km · Whitbourne | 21.1°C about the same | −8.7°C 0.9°C colder | 1,748 mm |
Carbonear weather by month
Month by month, 1991–2020: the usual high, low and mean, the rain and snow, and the snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −0.7°C | −7.8°C | −4.2°C | 153 mm | 95 cm |
| February | −1.0°C | −8.4°C | −4.7°C | 123 mm | 77 cm |
| March | 1.2°C | −5.7°C | −2.2°C | 140 mm | 62 cm |
| April | 5.6°C | −1.9°C | 1.8°C | 122 mm | 30 cm |
| May | 11.0°C | 1.6°C | 6.3°C | 98 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 15.7°C | 5.9°C | 10.8°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 20.9°C | 11.2°C | 16.0°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 20.8°C | 12.1°C | 16.5°C | 100 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.0°C | 8.5°C | 12.8°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11.2°C | 4.3°C | 7.8°C | 158 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 6.7°C | 0.0°C | 3.4°C | 157 mm | 22 cm |
| December | 2.1°C | −4.1°C | −1.0°C | 174 mm | 70 cm |
| Year | 9.2°C | 1.3°C | 5.3°C | 1,539 mm | 363 cm |
In February, anything from −22.4°C to 16.0°C
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high over 1991–2020; February is the month whose average wanders most from year to year (±1.9°C around −4.7°C), August the one that wanders least (±1.1°C).
Where Carbonear’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for St. John's (Airport), 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- 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: a sunshine figure (ECCC published none for 1991–2020) and any lapse-rate correction for height, as the town has no elevation here.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Carbonear’s climate
How warm does Carbonear get in summer?
Highs reach 20.9°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Carbonear get in winter?
At its coldest, in February, the normal low is −8.4°C.
How much rain and snow does Carbonear get?
Over twelve months, rain and melted snow come to 1,539 mm; the range runs from 88 mm in June to 174 mm in December.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Count on about 114 days of snow cover a year, 1 cm or deeper.
Are these figures for Carbonear itself?
They come from St. John's (Airport), which ECCC uses as the nearest normals location for Carbonear.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Carbonear →
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).