Victoria County, Subdivision A sits near the top of Canadian towns for rain and snow, with 1,612 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −8.2°C. By January nights alone, it runs milder than 83% of Canadian towns. Seasons differ by 34°C, from the coldest nights to the warmest afternoons. Plan for rain or snow on about 148 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Figures: ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals at Ingonish Beach (5.1 km south).
A year in Victoria County, Subdivision A at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Victoria County, Subdivision A’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia beside it.
What a year in Victoria County, Subdivision A feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 155 days, 20°C on 84
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. About 5 days a year top 30°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
About 1,612 mm of rain and snow a year
December brings the most rain and snow; July, the least. The wettest of 90 towns of 2,500+ in Nova Scotia.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
About 281 cm of snow a 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
Ingonish Beach publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Sydney, 65 km away.
Heating a home in Victoria County, Subdivision A
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Think of it as a year’s worth of daily shortfalls below 18°C, added up. In heating terms, homes need less heating than 66% of Canadian towns.
Living with Victoria County, Subdivision A’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
The frost-free stretch runs from about 22 May to about 22 October, some 152 days in a normal year.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 9 days a year.
Summer brings about 30 days when the humidex passes 30.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Victoria County, Subdivision A’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Ingonish Beach
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Ingonish Beach are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 5.1 km south |
| Station altitude | 8 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Sydney, 65 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −27.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.7°C |
| Average wind | 8.3 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Cheticamp, 40 km |
How Victoria County, Subdivision A 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 Nova Scotia.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Victoria County, Subdivision A’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Victoria County, Subdivision A with figures are 54–70 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria County, Subdivision A Ingonish Beach | 23.9°C | −8.2°C | 1,612 mm |
| Inverness County, Subdivision A 54 km · Cheticamp | 23.6°C about the same | −7.7°C about the same | 1,303 mm |
| Cape Breton 62 km · Sydney | 23.4°C 0.5°C cooler | −9.1°C 0.9°C colder | 1,481 mm |
Victoria County, Subdivision A 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 | −0.3°C | −8.2°C | −4.3°C | 159 mm | 78 cm |
| February | −0.5°C | −9.4°C | −5.0°C | 136 mm | 68 cm |
| March | 2.7°C | −6.2°C | −1.7°C | 144 mm | 45 cm |
| April | 7.1°C | −1.4°C | 2.9°C | 130 mm | 23 cm |
| May | 13.1°C | 3.1°C | 8.1°C | 96 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 18.6°C | 8.3°C | 13.5°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.9°C | 13.4°C | 18.7°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.2°C | 13.8°C | 19.0°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 20.2°C | 10.0°C | 15.1°C | 133 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.6°C | 4.9°C | 9.3°C | 175 mm | under 1 cm |
| November | 8.2°C | 0.9°C | 4.6°C | 156 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 3.0°C | −3.6°C | −0.3°C | 195 mm | 57 cm |
| Year | 11.2°C | 2.1°C | 6.7°C | 1,612 mm | 281 cm |
February strays furthest from its normal year to year, by 2.1°C; August the least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in February: a low of −27.5°C in 1993 and a high of 19.0°C in 2000.
Where Victoria County, Subdivision A’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Ingonish Beach: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Other locations: where a location publishes no full year of precipitation or snowfall, the nearest one that does supplies it, named beside those figures.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- 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 Victoria County, Subdivision A’s climate
How warm does Victoria County, Subdivision A get in summer?
In August, the warmest month, the typical high is 24.2°C.
How cold does Victoria County, Subdivision A get in winter?
Lows sink to −9.4°C on an average February night.
How much rain and snow does Victoria County, Subdivision A get?
Measured as water, a year brings 1,612 mm: 195 mm in December, the wettest month, and 86 mm in July, the driest.
Are these figures for Victoria County, Subdivision A itself?
Yes. Ingonish Beach, where ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals were measured, lies within Victoria County, Subdivision A.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Victoria County, Subdivision A →
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).