More rain and snow fall on Cité-Universitaire than on 87% of Canadian towns: 1,173 mm a year
The depth of winter brings overnight lows near −15.6°C. A year here swings 41°C from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. In January, nights here are colder than in 73% of Canadian towns. Warm coats and heating bills mark the months from October to April, when means dip under 10°C.
Borrowed figures: Cité-Universitaire has no normals station, so these come from Ste-Foy (U. Laval), 2.7 km west.
A year in Cité-Universitaire at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Cité-Universitaire’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Cité-Universitaire feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 162 frosts and 101 warm days a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. Deep cold, under −20°C, comes on about 21 nights a year.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
1,173 mm of precipitation in a typical year
July is the wettest month and February the driest. On about 135 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
ECCC’s Ste-Foy (U. Laval) normals leave precipitation out; the figures here come from Québec Jean Lesage (Airport), 7.4 km away.
299 cm of snow in a typical year
Expect snow from October to April, with about 77 cm in December, the snowiest month.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
ECCC’s Ste-Foy (U. Laval) normals leave snowfall out; the figures here come from Lauzon, 15 km away.
Heating a home in Cité-Universitaire
92% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Warm days count for nothing; each colder day adds how far its mean sits below 18°C.
Living with Cité-Universitaire’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →Winter brings about 39 days with a wind chill below −20.
On some 31 days a year the humidex climbs past 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Cité-Universitaire’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Ste-Foy (U. Laval)
ECCC builds the Ste-Foy (U. Laval) normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 2.7 km west |
| Station altitude | 79 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Québec Jean Lesage (Airport), 7.4 km |
| Snowfall from | Lauzon, 15 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.3°C |
| Average wind | 9.9 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Québec Jean Lesage (Airport), 7.4 km |
How Cité-Universitaire 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 Cité-Universitaire’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to Cité-Universitaire with figures are 6–17 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cité-Universitaire Ste-Foy (U. Laval) | 25.1°C | −15.6°C | 1,173 mm |
| L'Ancienne-Lorette 5.6 km · Québec Jean Lesage (Airport) | 25.0°C about the same | −16.7°C 1.1°C colder | 1,173 mm |
| Sainte-Pétronille 15 km · Lauzon | 24.9°C about the same | −16.6°C 1.0°C colder | 1,216 mm |
Cité-Universitaire 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 | −7.1°C | −15.6°C | −11.3°C | 87 mm | 62 cm |
| February | −4.8°C | −14.4°C | −9.6°C | 66 mm | 71 cm |
| March | 0.8°C | −8.4°C | −3.8°C | 78 mm | 51 cm |
| April | 8.4°C | −0.6°C | 4.0°C | 94 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 17.5°C | 6.5°C | 12.0°C | 92 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 22.5°C | 11.7°C | 17.1°C | 115 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.1°C | 14.8°C | 20.0°C | 119 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.2°C | 13.9°C | 19.1°C | 109 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.4°C | 9.2°C | 14.3°C | 111 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 11.1°C | 3.2°C | 7.2°C | 116 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4.0°C | −2.7°C | 0.7°C | 91 mm | 24 cm |
| December | −3.2°C | −10.2°C | −6.7°C | 96 mm | 77 cm |
| Year | 9.8°C | 0.6°C | 5.2°C | 1,173 mm | 299 cm |
Two years in three, January’s average lands within 2.8°C of normal, against the steadier August
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −27.7°C in 2003 and a high of 20.4°C in 2012.
Where Cité-Universitaire’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Ste-Foy (U. Laval) (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- Other locations: a location missing months of precipitation or snow is filled from the nearest that has them all, never mixed month by month.
- Comparisons: a pool of Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, read alike; whole cities and reserves stay out of it.
- Not on this page: sunshine, absent from every 1991–2020 location, and an altitude correction, for want of 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 Cité-Universitaire’s climate
How warm does Cité-Universitaire get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.1°C.
How cold does Cité-Universitaire get in winter?
On a normal January night the air drops to −15.6°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Cité-Universitaire get?
About 1,173 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. July is the wettest month (119 mm) and February the driest (66 mm).
Are these figures for Cité-Universitaire itself?
The figures are ECCC’s for Ste-Foy (U. Laval); Cité-Universitaire has no normals station.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Cité-Universitaire →
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).