Photo: Miguel Tremblay · CC0Hardly any Canadian towns see more snow than Rivière-Ouelle, with about 349 cm a year
Midwinter brings lows of about −15.3°C. By January nights alone, it runs colder than 72% of Canadian towns. The seasons are far apart: from a winter night to a summer afternoon the average spans 40°C. Heating does most of its work from October to April, in months below 10°C on average.
ECCC publishes no normals for Rivière-Ouelle itself; the figures are those of La Pocatière, 12 km south.
A year in Rivière-Ouelle at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Rivière-Ouelle’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Rivière-Ouelle feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
170 frost days and 92 days above 20°C a year
Frost comes from October to May; in January almost every night freezes. Some 18 nights a year drop under −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 906 mm a year
The most falls in October, the least in February. About 129 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 349 cm in a normal year
The snow season runs October to May; December brings the most, about 83 cm. 9th snowiest of 494 towns of 2,500+ in Quebec.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
ECCC’s La Pocatière normals leave snowfall out; the figures here come from Ste Lucie, 81 km away.
Heating a home in Rivière-Ouelle
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
The count adds up, day by day, how far the mean temperature falls short of 18°C. Homes here need more heating than 63% of Canadian towns.
Living with Rivière-Ouelle’s climate
The averages read for the garden, the outdoors and the coldest and hottest days.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 52 days a year here.
Roughly 31 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Rivière-Ouelle’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: La Pocatière
La Pocatière is a composite: ECCC joins 2 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 12 km south |
| Station altitude | 31 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Ste Lucie, 81 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −33.5°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.7°C |
| Average wind | 14.8 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Rivière-du-Loup/St-Antonin, 52 km |
How Rivière-Ouelle 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
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Rivière-Ouelle’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 38–47 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Rivière-Ouelle.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rivière-Ouelle La Pocatière | 24.2°C | −15.3°C | 906 mm |
| Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska 38 km · Rivière-du-Loup/St-Antonin | 22.5°C 1.7°C cooler | −15.5°C about the same | 906 mm |
| Petite-Rivière-Saint-François 45 km · Cap-Tourmente | 25.0°C 0.8°C warmer | −14.8°C 0.5°C milder | 906 mm |
Rivière-Ouelle weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6.5°C | −15.3°C | −10.9°C | 70 mm | 62 cm |
| February | −5.0°C | −14.3°C | −9.6°C | 61 mm | 71 cm |
| March | 0.1°C | −8.8°C | −4.4°C | 62 mm | 61 cm |
| April | 7.6°C | −1.5°C | 3.0°C | 69 mm | 27 cm |
| May | 16.2°C | 4.7°C | 10.4°C | 74 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21.6°C | 10.0°C | 15.8°C | 85 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.2°C | 13.2°C | 18.7°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.6°C | 12.4°C | 18.0°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 18.9°C | 8.3°C | 13.6°C | 78 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 11.1°C | 2.7°C | 7.0°C | 99 mm | 11 cm |
| November | 4.3°C | −2.7°C | 0.8°C | 72 mm | 30 cm |
| December | −2.6°C | −10.1°C | −6.4°C | 74 mm | 83 cm |
| Year | 9.5°C | −0.1°C | 4.7°C | 906 mm | 349 cm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 2.6°C; the steadiest, June
The thirty-year records stretch furthest in March: a low of −27.2°C in 2007 and a high of 21.8°C in 2012.
Where Rivière-Ouelle’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals at La Pocatière, the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 or more, each read from its own nearest location; city totals and reserves are left out.
- 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 Rivière-Ouelle’s climate
How warm does Rivière-Ouelle get in summer?
In July, the warmest month, the typical high is 24.2°C.
How cold does Rivière-Ouelle get in winter?
Overnight lows average −15.3°C in January, the coldest month.
How much rain and snow does Rivière-Ouelle get?
About 906 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. October is the wettest month (99 mm) and February the driest (61 mm).
Are these figures for Rivière-Ouelle itself?
Only indirectly: the readings are made at La Pocatière, outside Rivière-Ouelle.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Rivière-Ouelle →
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).