Eeyou Istchee Baie-James has some of the coldest winter nights among Canadian towns
Sunny July days climb to about 22.9°C. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 92% of Canadian towns. Expect the most rain and snow in July and the least in February. The heating season runs October to May: each of those months averages under 10°C.
Measured at Chapais, 48 km east: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
Frost on 215 days, 20°C on 72
From September to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 65 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
1,080 mm of precipitation in a typical year
Some 157 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
ECCC’s Chapais normals leave precipitation out; the figures here come from Parent, 221 km away.
Heating a home in Eeyou Istchee Baie-James
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. In heating terms, homes need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’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 →Plan for about 85 days a year with a wind chill below −20.
On some 14 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Chapais
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Chapais are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 48 km east |
| Station altitude | 381 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Parent, 221 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.0°C |
| Average wind | 6.3 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Matagami, 155 km |
How Eeyou Istchee Baie-James 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.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Eeyou Istchee Baie-James with figures are 126–143 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eeyou Istchee Baie-James Chapais | 22.9°C | −24.1°C | 1,080 mm |
| Lebel-sur-Quévillon 126 km · Matagami | 23.2°C about the same | −23.7°C about the same | 868 mm |
| Obedjiwan 28 136 km · Parent | 23.1°C about the same | −23.1°C 1.0°C milder | 1,080 mm |
Eeyou Istchee Baie-James weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −12.7°C | −24.1°C | −18.5°C | 91 mm |
| February | −10.2°C | −23.0°C | −16.6°C | 54 mm |
| March | −3.0°C | −16.7°C | −9.9°C | 63 mm |
| April | 5.1°C | −7.0°C | −1.0°C | 76 mm |
| May | 14.7°C | 1.4°C | 8.1°C | 84 mm |
| June | 21.2°C | 7.5°C | 14.4°C | 95 mm |
| July | 22.9°C | 10.2°C | 16.6°C | 117 mm |
| August | 21.0°C | 9.2°C | 15.1°C | 110 mm |
| September | 15.9°C | 4.8°C | 10.4°C | 100 mm |
| October | 7.3°C | −0.5°C | 3.4°C | 104 mm |
| November | −1.1°C | −8.0°C | −4.5°C | 96 mm |
| December | −8.4°C | −17.6°C | −13.0°C | 90 mm |
| Year | 6.1°C | −5.3°C | 0.4°C | 1,080 mm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 3.6°C; the steadiest, July
March has the widest record range, −40.9°C in 2007 to 22.5°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at Chapais, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- 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: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s climate
How warm does Eeyou Istchee Baie-James get in summer?
The year’s warmest days come in July, with highs averaging 22.9°C.
How cold does Eeyou Istchee Baie-James get in winter?
In January, the coldest month, the typical low is −24.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Eeyou Istchee Baie-James get?
About 1,080 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (117 mm) and February the driest (54 mm).
Are these figures for Eeyou Istchee Baie-James itself?
Yes, measured at Chapais, which sits inside Eeyou Istchee Baie-James’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Eeyou Istchee Baie-James →
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).