Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0More rain and snow fall on Inverness than on 93% of Canadian towns: 1,303 mm a year
Midwinter brings lows of about −9.9°C. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 34°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in 87% of Canadian towns. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 159 times a year.
Inverness has no ECCC normals station nearby: the figures come from Port Hawkesbury, 54 km south, so read them as the wider area’s climate.
A year in Inverness at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Inverness’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Inverness feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
1,303 mm of precipitation in a typical year
December is the wettest month and May the driest.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Precipitation: Cheticamp, 68 km away (Port Hawkesbury records no complete year of it).
Snowfall: about 162 cm in a normal year
From November to April snow is likely; February is the peak, at about 44 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Port Hawkesbury publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Collegeville, 86 km away.
Living with Inverness’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →A typical year is calm by definition; Inverness’s hazards page covers the exceptions.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Port Hawkesbury
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Port Hawkesbury are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 54 km south |
| Station altitude | 115 m |
| Completeness | at least 15 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Cheticamp, 68 km |
| Snowfall from | Collegeville, 86 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −28.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 38.0°C |
| Next-nearest location | East Point, 57 km |
How Inverness 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
Places around Inverness whose figures come from another normals location. No closer places have figures: these lie 49–68 km from Inverness.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness Port Hawkesbury | 23.2°C | −9.9°C | 1,303 mm |
| Inverness County, Subdivision A 49 km · Cheticamp | 23.6°C about the same | −7.7°C 2.2°C milder | 1,303 mm |
| Victoria County, Subdivision B 52 km · Sydney | 23.4°C about the same | −9.1°C 0.8°C milder | 1,481 mm |
| Antigonish County, Subdivision B 65 km · Collegeville | 24.5°C 1.3°C warmer | −10.4°C 0.5°C colder | 1,122 mm |
| Souris 68 km · St. Peters/Monticello | 23.4°C about the same | −9.9°C about the same | 1,116 mm |
Inverness weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1.8°C | −9.9°C | −5.8°C | 113 mm | 35 cm |
| February | −2.1°C | −10.7°C | −6.5°C | 101 mm | 44 cm |
| March | 1.5°C | −6.9°C | −2.5°C | 93 mm | 27 cm |
| April | 6.8°C | −1.5°C | 2.7°C | 88 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 13.4°C | 3.0°C | 8.2°C | 82 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 18.9°C | 8.2°C | 13.6°C | 88 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.2°C | 13.0°C | 18.1°C | 93 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.5°C | 13.5°C | 18.6°C | 103 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.6°C | 9.8°C | 14.7°C | 127 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.2°C | 5.0°C | 9.1°C | 136 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 7.5°C | 0.4°C | 4.0°C | 135 mm | 8 cm |
| December | 2.2°C | −4.4°C | −1.1°C | 144 mm | 38 cm |
| Year | 10.5°C | 1.6°C | 6.1°C | 1,303 mm | 162 cm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 2.0°C; the steadiest month is August
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −22.5°C in 1994 and a high of 23.7°C in 2012.
Where Inverness’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: 1991–2020 normals for Port Hawkesbury from ECCC’s climate data site, the nearest location with every month of temperature.
- 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: 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: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Inverness’s climate
How warm does Inverness get in summer?
The warmest month is August, when afternoons average 23.5°C.
How cold does Inverness get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in February, with lows near −10.7°C.
How much rain and snow does Inverness get?
Rain and snow add up to about 1,303 mm of water a year; December brings the most (144 mm), May the least (82 mm).
Are these figures for Inverness itself?
No: they come from Port Hawkesbury, the nearest ECCC normals location, and far enough away to describe the wider area more than Inverness.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Inverness →
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).