Photo: Harfang · CC BY-SA 3.0Hardly any Canadian towns see fresher July days than Port-Cartier
Midwinter brings lows of about −20.1°C. Frost is common: about 205 nights a year drop below freezing, more than in 95% of Canadian towns. Expect the most rain and snow in October and the least in February. Wet days, with 1 mm of rain or snow or more, come about 126 times a year.
No ECCC station in Port-Cartier has 1991–2020 normals; the page reads Sept-Îles, 49 km north-east, instead.
A year in Port-Cartier at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Port-Cartier’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Port-Cartier feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 205 frosts and 37 warm days a year
Frost comes from September to June; in January almost every night freezes. On about 45 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
Rain and melted snow: about 1,077 mm a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Port-Cartier
83% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: September to May.
Degree days add up how far each day’s mean temperature falls below 18°C over a year. That means homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Port-Cartier’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
For long days outdoors, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Winter brings about 76 days with a wind chill below −20.
About 1 days a year feel above 30 on the humidex.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Port-Cartier’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Sept-Îles
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Sept-Îles are 4 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 49 km north-east |
| Station altitude | 55 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.9°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.6°C |
| Average wind | 13.0 km/h on average, most often from the east |
| Next-nearest location | Cap-Chat, 105 km |
How Port-Cartier compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Quebec.
Nearby towns’ climate
Places around Port-Cartier whose figures come from another normals location. Port-Cartier has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 104–131 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port-Cartier Sept-Îles | 19.7°C | −20.1°C | 1,077 mm |
| Cap-Chat 104 km · Cap-Chat | 19.7°C about the same | −13.9°C 6.2°C milder | 966 mm |
| Saint-Maxime-du-Mont-Louis 129 km · Cap-Madeleine | 20.3°C 0.6°C warmer | −13.4°C 6.7°C milder | 1,161 mm |
| Baie-Comeau 131 km · Baie-Comeau | 21.3°C 1.6°C warmer | −18.8°C 1.3°C milder | 966 mm |
Port-Cartier weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature and precipitation by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8.9°C | −20.1°C | −14.5°C | 77 mm |
| February | −7.4°C | −19.4°C | −13.4°C | 60 mm |
| March | −1.9°C | −12.7°C | −7.3°C | 74 mm |
| April | 4.1°C | −4.4°C | −0.1°C | 76 mm |
| May | 10.9°C | 1.1°C | 6.0°C | 86 mm |
| June | 16.7°C | 6.5°C | 11.6°C | 87 mm |
| July | 19.7°C | 10.3°C | 15.1°C | 103 mm |
| August | 19.5°C | 9.6°C | 14.6°C | 86 mm |
| September | 14.8°C | 4.8°C | 9.8°C | 107 mm |
| October | 8.4°C | 0.1°C | 4.3°C | 118 mm |
| November | 1.7°C | −6.3°C | −2.3°C | 112 mm |
| December | −4.9°C | −14.3°C | −9.6°C | 92 mm |
| Year | 6.1°C | −3.7°C | 1.2°C | 1,077 mm |
A February here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 3.1°C; the steadiest month is July
Records from 1991 to 2020: no month spans more than March, between −32.8°C (2014) and 16.4°C (2012).
Where Port-Cartier’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Sept-Îles (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- 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 Port-Cartier’s climate
How warm does Port-Cartier get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 19.7°C.
How cold does Port-Cartier get in winter?
Overnight lows average −20.1°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Port-Cartier get?
Some 1,077 mm falls in a year. Most of it comes in October (118 mm), the least in February (60 mm).
Are these figures for Port-Cartier itself?
Only indirectly: the readings are made at Sept-Îles, outside Port-Cartier.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Port-Cartier →
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).