Photo: Carl Young · CC BY-SA 4.0Hardly any Canadian towns see harsher January nights than Chisasibi
Sunny July days climb to about 20.7°C. Its July afternoons stay fresher than in almost every Canadian town. Precipitation follows the seasons: September brings about 5.0 times as much as February. Plan for rain or snow on about 125 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Every figure here comes from La Grande Rivière, 78 km east; ECCC has no normals closer to Chisasibi, so they describe the wider area.
A year in Chisasibi at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Chisasibi’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Chisasibi feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
228 frost days and 48 days above 20°C a year
From September to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 78 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
Rain and melted snow: about 702 mm a year
511th wettest of 513 towns of 2,500+ in Quebec.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
236 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from September to June, with about 55 cm in November, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Chisasibi
84% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. By this count, homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Chisasibi’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
On average the last spring frost comes around 16 June and the first autumn frost around 21 September: about 95 frost-free days between.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Count on some 116 days a year when the wind makes it feel below −20.
About 5 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
What averages leave out, the floods and ice storms, is on Chisasibi’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: La Grande Rivière
ECCC builds the La Grande Rivière normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 78 km east |
| Station altitude | 195 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −42.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.3°C |
| Average wind | 14.9 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Kuujjuarapik, 183 km |
How Chisasibi compares
Placed among 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+, each on its nearest normals location; each dot is another location used in Quebec.
Chisasibi 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 | −17.2°C | −26.1°C | −21.7°C | 31 mm | 30 cm |
| February | −15.4°C | −26.1°C | −20.8°C | 22 mm | 22 cm |
| March | −7.9°C | −20.0°C | −14.0°C | 28 mm | 25 cm |
| April | 0.5°C | −10.6°C | −5.1°C | 29 mm | 20 cm |
| May | 10.1°C | −1.6°C | 4.3°C | 44 mm | 10 cm |
| June | 18.1°C | 4.9°C | 11.5°C | 62 mm | 2 cm |
| July | 20.7°C | 8.8°C | 14.8°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18.8°C | 8.3°C | 13.6°C | 90 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 12.9°C | 4.3°C | 8.6°C | 110 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 5.5°C | −0.7°C | 2.4°C | 89 mm | 26 cm |
| November | −2.5°C | −8.3°C | −5.4°C | 68 mm | 55 cm |
| December | −10.8°C | −18.1°C | −14.5°C | 44 mm | 43 cm |
| Year | 2.7°C | −7.1°C | −2.2°C | 702 mm | 236 cm |
From year to year, January moves by 3.5°C, more than any month, and July least
Bars run from each month’s record low to its record high since 1991. May spans the most, from −22.6°C (2019) to 32.6°C (1998).
Where Chisasibi’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at La Grande Rivière, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Chisasibi’s climate
How warm does Chisasibi get in summer?
A normal July afternoon tops out at about 20.7°C, the year’s high point.
How cold does Chisasibi get in winter?
January nights average −26.1°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Chisasibi get?
Rain and snow add up to about 702 mm of water a year; September brings the most (110 mm), February the least (22 mm).
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 193 days a year.
Are these figures for Chisasibi itself?
Not really: La Grande Rivière, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Chisasibi.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Chisasibi →
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).