Photo: United Kingdom Hydrographic Office · Public domainFew Canadian towns have cooler summers than Harbour Grace
January nights here settle around −7.8°C. Its yearly rain and snow top those of 98% of Canadian towns. A year here swings 29°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Ice scrapers and block heaters earn their keep on roughly 164 days a year at 0°C or below.
ECCC publishes no normals for Harbour Grace itself; the figures are those of St. John's (Airport), 37 km east.
A year in Harbour Grace at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Harbour Grace’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Newfoundland and Labrador beside it.
What a year in Harbour Grace feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
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
About 1,539 mm of rain and snow a year
The most falls in December, the least in June. 5th wettest of 32 towns of 2,500+ in Newfoundland and Labrador. Some 162 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 363 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs October to May; January brings the most, about 95 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Harbour Grace
81% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Heating degree days total each day’s gap between its mean temperature and 18°C.
Living with Harbour Grace’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Frost usually lets go around 28 May and returns near 18 October, about 142 days apart.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jul, Aug and Sep, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 19 days a year.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 11 days a year.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; Harbour Grace’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: St. John's (Airport)
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for St. John's (Airport) are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 37 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 | Whitbourne, 38 km |
How Harbour Grace 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 Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Harbour Grace whose figures come from another normals location.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harbour Grace St. John's (Airport) | 20.9°C | −7.8°C | 1,539 mm |
| Upper Island Cove 4.1 km · Whitbourne | 21.1°C about the same | −8.7°C 0.9°C colder | 1,748 mm |
| Carbonear 5.6 km · St. John's (Airport) | 20.9°C about the same | −7.8°C about the same | 1,539 mm |
Harbour Grace weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and 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 |
February varies most from one year to the next (1.9°C), August least
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. February spans the most, from −22.4°C (1994) to 16.0°C (1996).
Where Harbour Grace’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for St. John's (Airport), the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- 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 Harbour Grace’s climate
How warm does Harbour Grace get in summer?
Expect highs near 20.9°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Harbour Grace get in winter?
A typical February night falls to −8.4°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Harbour Grace get?
A normal year brings 1,539 mm, snow included as water: December is wettest at 174 mm, June driest at 88 mm.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
About 114 days a year count as snow-covered, with 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Harbour Grace itself?
Not directly: Harbour Grace has no ECCC normals of its own, and St. John's (Airport) stands in for it.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Harbour Grace →
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).