More rain and snow fall on North Shore than on 83% of Canadian towns: 1,136 mm a year
High summer brings afternoon highs near 23.6°C. A year here swings 35°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 72% of Canadian towns. An umbrella or a shovel earns its place on about 135 days a year with 1 mm or more.
The nearest ECCC normals location to North Shore is Charlottetown (Airport), 9.4 km south-west, and every figure on this page is its.
A year in North Shore at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about North Shore’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ on Prince Edward Island beside it.
What a year in North Shore feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 159 days, 20°C on 83
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes. On about 6 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,136 mm of precipitation in a typical year
October is the wettest month and April the driest. 6th wettest of 12 towns of 2,500+ on Prince Edward Island.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 285 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs October to May; January brings the most, about 73 cm. 6th snowiest of 12 towns of 2,500+ on Prince Edward Island.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in North Shore
88% 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 North Shore’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Seedlings can go out once the average last frost, around 17 May, has passed; autumn’s first, near 18 October, ends a season of about 153 days.
Warm afternoons without cold nights, 17–27°C and 8°C or more, mark Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 29 days a year.
Summer brings about 25 days when the humidex passes 30.
A normal year has no blizzard, flood or heat wave in it; North Shore’s hazards page looks at those.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Charlottetown (Airport)
Charlottetown (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 9.4 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 49 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −29.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 33.0°C |
| Average wind | 16.4 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | New Glasgow, 21 km |
How North Shore compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations on Prince Edward Island.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around North Shore whose figures come from another normals location. North Shore has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 17–27 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Shore Charlottetown (Airport) | 23.6°C | −11.5°C | 1,136 mm |
| New Glasgow 17 km · New Glasgow | 23.9°C about the same | −11.1°C about the same | 1,252 mm |
| Kingston 20 km · Elmwood | 23.7°C about the same | −11.0°C 0.5°C milder | 1,290 mm |
| Morell 26 km · St. Peters/Monticello | 23.4°C about the same | −9.9°C 1.6°C milder | 1,116 mm |
North Shore 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 | −3.0°C | −11.5°C | −7.3°C | 101 mm | 73 cm |
| February | −2.9°C | −11.6°C | −7.3°C | 85 mm | 62 cm |
| March | 1.4°C | −6.5°C | −2.6°C | 84 mm | 42 cm |
| April | 7.3°C | −1.4°C | 3.0°C | 75 mm | 21 cm |
| May | 14.2°C | 3.9°C | 9.1°C | 78 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 19.5°C | 9.6°C | 14.6°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23.6°C | 14.4°C | 19.0°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.3°C | 14.1°C | 18.8°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.1°C | 10.0°C | 14.6°C | 95 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12.6°C | 4.6°C | 8.6°C | 122 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 6.7°C | −0.2°C | 3.2°C | 110 mm | 21 cm |
| December | 0.9°C | −6.3°C | −2.7°C | 115 mm | 63 cm |
| Year | 10.2°C | 1.6°C | 5.9°C | 1,136 mm | 285 cm |
A January here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 2.4°C; the steadiest month is August
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −23.3°C in 2001 and a high of 24.5°C in 2012.
Where North Shore’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 normals from ECCC for Charlottetown (Airport), its nearest location with complete temperatures.
- 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: 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 North Shore’s climate
How warm does North Shore get in summer?
At its warmest, in July, the normal high is 23.6°C.
How cold does North Shore get in winter?
On a normal February night the air drops to −11.6°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does North Shore get?
Measured as water, a year brings 1,136 mm: 122 mm in October, the wettest month, and 75 mm in April, the driest.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
Roughly 113 days a year start with snow cover of 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for North Shore itself?
Only indirectly: the readings are made at Charlottetown (Airport), outside North Shore.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for North Shore →
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).