Photo: Fairchild Aviation Limited (d'après l'inscription dans le coin inférieur droit de la photo) · Public domainSnowfall in Shawinigan tops that of 90% of Canadian towns: about 274 cm a year
In January the night’s low is typically −14.1°C. Of all months, July brings the most precipitation and February the least. Precipitation is plentiful here, more than falls on 80% of Canadian towns. Plan for rain or snow on about 132 days a year, the days with 1 mm or more.
Borrowed figures: Shawinigan has no normals station, so these come from Trois-Rivières, 29 km south-east.
A year in Shawinigan at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Shawinigan’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Shawinigan feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
Frost on 145 days, 20°C on 104
The frost season runs October to April, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 15 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
About 1,101 mm of rain and snow a year
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
About 274 cm of snow a year
From October to April snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 69 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Shawinigan
93% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Every day colder than 18°C on average adds its gap in degrees to the year’s heating total.
Living with Shawinigan’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Plan time outside for Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep: highs of 17–27°C and nights no colder than 8°C.
Parks & trails →A wind chill below −20 is part of about 42 days a year here.
The humidex tops 30 on about 37 days a year: muggy days to plan around.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Shawinigan’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Trois-Rivières
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Trois-Rivières are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 29 km south-east |
| Station altitude | 6 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −32.3°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 34.0°C |
| Average wind | 13.4 km/h on average, most often from the south-west |
| Next-nearest location | Nicolet, 42 km |
How Shawinigan 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
The nearest places on a normals location of their own: those that share Shawinigan’s would only repeat its figures. No closer places have figures: these lie 32–39 km from Shawinigan.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shawinigan Trois-Rivières | 25.1°C | −14.1°C | 1,101 mm |
| Sainte-Thècle 32 km · Fortierville | 25.5°C about the same | −16.9°C 2.8°C colder | 1,138 mm |
| Yamachiche 33 km · Nicolet | 25.7°C 0.6°C warmer | −16.4°C 2.3°C colder | 948 mm |
Shawinigan weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5.6°C | −14.1°C | −9.9°C | 83 mm | 61 cm |
| February | −3.9°C | −13.1°C | −8.5°C | 66 mm | 53 cm |
| March | 1.2°C | −7.3°C | −3.1°C | 76 mm | 50 cm |
| April | 8.8°C | 0.3°C | 4.6°C | 87 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 17.3°C | 7.9°C | 12.6°C | 83 mm | under 1 cm |
| June | 22.5°C | 13.6°C | 18.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.1°C | 16.7°C | 20.9°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.1°C | 15.6°C | 19.9°C | 96 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.8°C | 11.0°C | 15.5°C | 97 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 12.2°C | 5.1°C | 8.5°C | 101 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 4.9°C | −1.3°C | 1.8°C | 88 mm | 24 cm |
| December | −2.0°C | −8.6°C | −5.3°C | 95 mm | 69 cm |
| Year | 10.4°C | 2.1°C | 6.2°C | 1,101 mm | 274 cm |
From year to year, January moves by 2.8°C, more than any month, and June least
Each bar spans a month’s coldest and warmest readings over thirty years; January’s run from −32.3°C in 2009 to 12.0°C in 1996.
Where Shawinigan’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Trois-Rivières, 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: every place of 2,500+ in Canada but the city hubs and the reserves, each on its nearest ECCC location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, not in ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals, and the effect of the town’s height, for which there is no figure.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Shawinigan’s climate
How warm does Shawinigan get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.1°C.
How cold does Shawinigan get in winter?
Lows sink to −14.1°C on an average January night.
How much rain and snow does Shawinigan get?
1,101 mm a year counting snow as water. The wettest month is July (125 mm); the driest, February (66 mm).
Are these figures for Shawinigan itself?
No, the station behind them is Trois-Rivières, beyond Shawinigan’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Shawinigan →
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).