Photo: Mario Hains · CC BY-SA 3.0Hardly any Canadian towns see fresher July days than Cap-Chat
January mornings start at about −13.9°C. It is a wet place: more rain and snow fall here than on 66% of Canadian towns. Of all months, July brings the most precipitation and February the least. Windshields need scraping on about 170 mornings a year, the days the air reaches 0°C or below.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, measured at Cap-Chat, 3.2 km south-west.
A year in Cap-Chat at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cap-Chat’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Cap-Chat feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 170 days, 20°C on 37
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Some 9 nights a year drop under −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 966 mm a year
On about 124 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Cap-Chat publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Baie-Comeau, 110 km away.
Heating a home in Cap-Chat
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. By this count, homes here need more heating than 81% of Canadian towns.
Living with Cap-Chat’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
The outdoor season by the averages is Jul and Aug, with highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Roughly 56 days a year feel colder than −20 in the wind.
Plan shade and water for about 5 days a year above 30 on the humidex.
For the weather that does damage, from ice storms to floods, see Cap-Chat’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Cap-Chat
Cap-Chat is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 3.2 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 35 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Baie-Comeau, 110 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.5°C |
| Average wind | 19.8 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Causapscal, 90 km |
How Cap-Chat compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Quebec.
Nearby towns’ climate
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Cap-Chat’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 66–89 km from Cap-Chat.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cap-Chat | 19.7°C | −13.9°C | 966 mm |
| Matane 66 km · Causapscal | 23.8°C 4.1°C warmer | −19.2°C 5.3°C colder | 932 mm |
| Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis 77 km · Cap-Madeleine | 20.3°C 0.6°C warmer | −13.4°C 0.5°C milder | 1,161 mm |
| Saint-Ulric 81 km · Mont-Joli | 22.9°C 3.2°C warmer | −15.4°C 1.5°C colder | 932 mm |
Cap-Chat weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6.1°C | −13.9°C | −10.0°C | 65 mm |
| February | −5.8°C | −13.3°C | −9.7°C | 61 mm |
| March | −1.2°C | −8.7°C | −5.0°C | 64 mm |
| April | 4.6°C | −1.9°C | 1.4°C | 72 mm |
| May | 11.1°C | 3.5°C | 7.3°C | 76 mm |
| June | 16.5°C | 8.6°C | 12.6°C | 83 mm |
| July | 19.7°C | 12.4°C | 16.1°C | 111 mm |
| August | 19.1°C | 12.0°C | 15.6°C | 82 mm |
| September | 15.3°C | 7.9°C | 11.6°C | 93 mm |
| October | 9.3°C | 2.7°C | 6.0°C | 96 mm |
| November | 3.8°C | −2.2°C | 0.8°C | 87 mm |
| December | −1.9°C | −8.2°C | −5.0°C | 78 mm |
| Year | 7.0°C | −0.1°C | 3.5°C | 966 mm |
From year to year, February moves by 2.2°C, more than any month, and July least
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in January: a low of −33.1°C in 2014 and a high of 14.7°C in 2013.
Where Cap-Chat’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Cap-Chat, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- 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: 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 snowfall figure (none within 100 km), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and the town’s own elevation.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Cap-Chat’s climate
How warm does Cap-Chat get in summer?
Of all twelve months, July has the warmest afternoons, about 19.7°C.
How cold does Cap-Chat get in winter?
Winter bottoms out in January, with lows near −13.9°C.
How much rain and snow does Cap-Chat get?
The yearly total is about 966 mm. July gets 111 mm, the most of any month; February gets 61 mm, the least.
Are these figures for Cap-Chat itself?
Yes: ECCC’s normals station is inside Cap-Chat itself.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cap-Chat →
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).