Photo: Abebenjoe · CC BY-SA 3.0Cape Breton sits near the top of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 1,481 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −9.1°C. Precipitation peaks in December and eases off in July. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 87% of Canadian towns. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Sydney (9.1 km east).
A year in Cape Breton at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cape Breton’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Cape Breton feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
159 frost days and 80 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 1,481 mm a year
7th wettest of 90 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia. On about 142 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 281 cm in a normal year
Snow falls from November to May, most of all in January (about 78 cm). 3rd snowiest of 90 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Cape Breton
85% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Measured against 18°C: each day’s shortfall in mean temperature, added over twelve months.
Living with Cape Breton’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Seedlings can go out once the average last frost, around 22 May, has passed; autumn’s first, near 20 October, ends a season of about 150 days.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Expect around 20 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
A humidex above 30 marks about 24 days in a normal year.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Cape Breton’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sydney
Sydney is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 9.1 km east |
| Station altitude | 62 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −27.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.5°C |
| Average wind | 17.2 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Ingonish Beach, 57 km |
How Cape Breton compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Cape Breton’s would only repeat its figures. Distances here run 62–79 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Cape Breton.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Breton Sydney | 23.4°C | −9.1°C | 1,481 mm |
| Victoria County, Subdivision A 62 km · Ingonish Beach | 23.9°C 0.5°C warmer | −8.2°C 0.9°C milder | 1,612 mm |
| Richmond County, Subdivision B 74 km · Hart Island | 20.3°C 3.1°C cooler | −6.2°C 2.9°C milder | 1,481 mm |
| Inverness County, Subdivision A 79 km · Cheticamp | 23.6°C about the same | −7.7°C 1.4°C milder | 1,303 mm |
Cape Breton 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 | −0.8°C | −9.1°C | −5.0°C | 139 mm | 78 cm |
| February | −1.1°C | −9.9°C | −5.5°C | 131 mm | 68 cm |
| March | 1.8°C | −6.4°C | −2.3°C | 121 mm | 45 cm |
| April | 6.8°C | −1.7°C | 2.5°C | 120 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 13.2°C | 2.7°C | 7.9°C | 99 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 18.6°C | 7.8°C | 13.2°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.4°C | 12.9°C | 18.2°C | 87 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.4°C | 13.4°C | 18.4°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.4°C | 9.5°C | 14.5°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.1°C | 4.6°C | 8.9°C | 147 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 7.7°C | 0.4°C | 4.0°C | 149 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 2.6°C | −4.4°C | −0.9°C | 170 mm | 57 cm |
| Year | 10.7°C | 1.6°C | 6.2°C | 1,481 mm | 281 cm |
January varies most from one year to the next (2.0°C), November least
March has the widest record range, −25.6°C in 2001 to 23.1°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Cape Breton’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Sydney from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- 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: hours of sunshine, missing from the 1991–2020 normals, and a height correction: the town has no elevation on file.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cape Breton’s climate
How warm does Cape Breton get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 23.4°C.
How cold does Cape Breton get in winter?
Expect nights around −9.9°C in February; no month is colder.
How much rain and snow does Cape Breton get?
Some 1,481 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in December (170 mm), the least in July (87 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Expect snow on the ground, at least 1 cm, for about 97 days a year.
Are these figures for Cape Breton itself?
Yes, measured at Sydney, which sits inside Cape Breton’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cape Breton →
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).