Afternoon heat in Préfontaine beats that of 78% of Canadian towns
Nights in January average −13.5°C. It is a wet place: more rain and snow fall here than on 74% of Canadian towns. Winter and summer sit 40°C apart. For walks and days out, the stretch from May to September brings highs of 19–27°C.
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals at its Montréal Trudeau (Airport) station, 18 km south-west.
A year in Préfontaine at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Préfontaine’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Préfontaine feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
Frost on 146 days, 20°C on 121
From October to April frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 12 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 1,041 mm a year
October brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. Some 122 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 217 cm of snow a year
The snow season runs October to April; January brings the most, about 52 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Préfontaine
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. By this count, homes here need less heating than 62% of Canadian towns.
Living with Préfontaine’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Count on about 167 frost-free days: the last frost averages 29 April, the first 14 October.
Mild days and mild nights together (17–27°C by day, 8°C or more at night) belong to May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Expect around 40 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
About 50 days a year turn sultry, with the humidex past 30.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Préfontaine’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Montréal Trudeau (Airport)
Montréal Trudeau (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 3 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 18 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 36 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −31.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.6°C |
| Average wind | 15.4 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | L'Assomption, 31 km |
How Préfontaine 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
Places around Préfontaine whose figures come from another normals location. Distances here run 10–17 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Préfontaine.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Préfontaine Montréal Trudeau (Airport) | 26.7°C | −13.5°C | 1,041 mm |
| Montréal-Est 10.0 km · L'Assomption | 26.6°C about the same | −16.0°C 2.5°C colder | 1,041 mm |
| Brossard 12 km · L'Acadie | 26.6°C about the same | −13.6°C about the same | 1,041 mm |
Préfontaine 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 | −5.0°C | −13.5°C | −9.2°C | 86 mm | 52 cm |
| February | −3.4°C | −12.4°C | −8.0°C | 66 mm | 47 cm |
| March | 2.4°C | −6.5°C | −2.0°C | 77 mm | 37 cm |
| April | 11.3°C | 1.1°C | 6.2°C | 90 mm | 15 cm |
| May | 19.4°C | 8.3°C | 13.9°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24.2°C | 13.8°C | 19.0°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 26.7°C | 16.7°C | 21.7°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.7°C | 15.6°C | 20.6°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21.1°C | 10.9°C | 16.0°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 13.2°C | 4.5°C | 8.9°C | 103 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 6.1°C | −1.7°C | 2.3°C | 84 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −1.2°C | −8.7°C | −5.0°C | 92 mm | 48 cm |
| Year | 11.7°C | 2.3°C | 7.0°C | 1,041 mm | 217 cm |
March: −26.9°C at its coldest, 25.8°C at its warmest
From one year to the next, January’s average typically shifts by 3.0°C around its normal of −9.2°C, the widest of any month, while June’s shifts by 1.1°C.
Where Préfontaine’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Montréal Trudeau (Airport): the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- 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: 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 Préfontaine’s climate
How warm does Préfontaine get in summer?
Highs reach 26.7°C on an average July day; no month is warmer.
How cold does Préfontaine get in winter?
At its coldest, in January, the normal low is −13.5°C.
How much rain and snow does Préfontaine get?
The yearly total is about 1,041 mm. October gets 103 mm, the most of any month; February gets 66 mm, the least.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
There is 1 cm of snow or more on the ground on roughly 101 days a year.
Are these figures for Préfontaine itself?
Nearly: Montréal Trudeau (Airport), the location behind them, sits just beyond Préfontaine’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Préfontaine →
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).