Waskaganish sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for winter warmth
The warmest part of a July day comes in at 22.9°C on average. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than 92% of Canadian towns. Some 47°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Frost comes on about 216 days a year, so leave time to clear the car.
Far-off figures: ECCC’s closest normals for Waskaganish come from Moosonee, 131 km west, so take them as the area’s climate.
A year in Waskaganish at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Waskaganish’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Waskaganish feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 216 frosts and 69 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to June, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 73 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 700 mm a year
September brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. 512th wettest of 513 towns of 2,500+ in Quebec. On about 114 days a year, 1 mm or more falls.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Heating a home in Waskaganish
86% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
The total grows by a degree for every degree a day’s mean sits under 18°C. By this count, homes here need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Waskaganish’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 →Bitter wind chill, under −20, comes on about 100 days a year.
Summer brings about 21 days when the humidex passes 30.
Averages smooth over blizzards, ice storms, floods and heat waves; Waskaganish’s hazards page covers the risks.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Moosonee
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Moosonee are 5 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 131 km west |
| Station altitude | 9 m |
| Completeness | at least 20 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −47.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.1°C |
| Average wind | 11.2 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Matagami, 203 km |
How Waskaganish 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.
Waskaganish weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −13.0°C | −24.4°C | −18.7°C | 35 mm |
| February | −10.8°C | −23.9°C | −17.4°C | 31 mm |
| March | −4.0°C | −18.0°C | −11.0°C | 33 mm |
| April | 3.8°C | −8.1°C | −2.2°C | 37 mm |
| May | 12.7°C | 0.1°C | 6.4°C | 66 mm |
| June | 19.8°C | 5.7°C | 12.7°C | 68 mm |
| July | 22.9°C | 9.8°C | 16.3°C | 90 mm |
| August | 21.6°C | 9.4°C | 15.5°C | 80 mm |
| September | 16.9°C | 5.8°C | 11.3°C | 91 mm |
| October | 8.9°C | 0.6°C | 4.9°C | 72 mm |
| November | 0.1°C | −7.5°C | −3.6°C | 54 mm |
| December | −8.8°C | −18.2°C | −13.5°C | 44 mm |
| Year | 5.8°C | −5.7°C | 0.1°C | 700 mm |
From −39.5°C to 24.5°C: March’s coldest and warmest days since 1991
From one year to the next, December’s average typically shifts by 3.7°C around its normal of −13.5°C, the widest of any month, while August’s shifts by 1.2°C.
Where Waskaganish’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the closest ECCC location with twelve months of temperature normals, Moosonee, 1991–2020.
- 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: snowfall (no location within 100 km publishes a full year of it), sunshine (none for 1991–2020) and an altitude correction.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Waskaganish’s climate
How warm does Waskaganish get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 22.9°C.
How cold does Waskaganish get in winter?
On a normal January night the air drops to −24.4°C, the coldest of the year.
How much rain and snow does Waskaganish get?
September is the wettest month at 91 mm and February the driest at 31 mm, for 700 mm over the year.
Are these figures for Waskaganish itself?
No. The nearest normals are those of Moosonee, a long way from Waskaganish.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Waskaganish →
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).