Waswanipi sits near the bottom of Canadian towns for winter warmth
Midsummer highs settle at about 22.9°C. In July, afternoons here are cooler than in 92% of Canadian towns. Some 47°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Homes need heating from October to May, the months averaging under 10°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location is Chapais, 73 km east: at that distance its figures describe the region more than Waswanipi itself.
A year in Waswanipi at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Waswanipi’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Quebec beside it.
What a year in Waswanipi feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 215 frosts and 72 warm days a year
From September to June frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 65 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 1,080 mm a year
July brings the most rain and snow; February, the least. About 157 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Chapais publishes no full year of precipitation, so these figures come from Parent, 220 km away.
Heating a home in Waswanipi
87% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to May.
A day averaging 10 degrees under 18°C adds 10 to the total; warm days add nothing. In heating terms, homes need more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Waswanipi’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Highs of 17–27°C with nights of 8°C or more come in Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Expect around 85 days a year when the wind chill sinks below −20.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 14 days a year.
Ice storms, floods and heat waves are risks, not averages: they are on Waswanipi’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Chapais
Behind the 1991–2020 normals for Chapais are 2 stations, which ECCC combines into one record.
| Distance from the town | 73 km east |
| Station altitude | 381 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Precipitation from | Parent, 220 km |
| Snowfall from | No location within 100 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −43.2°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 35.0°C |
| Average wind | 6.3 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Matagami, 132 km |
How Waswanipi 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 Waswanipi’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 101–137 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Waswanipi.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waswanipi Chapais | 22.9°C | −24.1°C | 1,080 mm |
| Lebel-sur-Quévillon 101 km · Matagami | 23.2°C about the same | −23.7°C about the same | 868 mm |
| Obedjiwan 28 137 km · Parent | 23.1°C about the same | −23.1°C 1.0°C milder | 1,080 mm |
Waswanipi weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean and precipitation.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −12.7°C | −24.1°C | −18.5°C | 91 mm |
| February | −10.2°C | −23.0°C | −16.6°C | 54 mm |
| March | −3.0°C | −16.7°C | −9.9°C | 63 mm |
| April | 5.1°C | −7.0°C | −1.0°C | 76 mm |
| May | 14.7°C | 1.4°C | 8.1°C | 84 mm |
| June | 21.2°C | 7.5°C | 14.4°C | 95 mm |
| July | 22.9°C | 10.2°C | 16.6°C | 117 mm |
| August | 21.0°C | 9.2°C | 15.1°C | 110 mm |
| September | 15.9°C | 4.8°C | 10.4°C | 100 mm |
| October | 7.3°C | −0.5°C | 3.4°C | 104 mm |
| November | −1.1°C | −8.0°C | −4.5°C | 96 mm |
| December | −8.4°C | −17.6°C | −13.0°C | 90 mm |
| Year | 6.1°C | −5.3°C | 0.4°C | 1,080 mm |
The most changeable month: January, give or take 3.6°C; the steadiest, July
March has the widest record range, −40.9°C in 2007 to 22.5°C in 2012; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Waswanipi’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 1991–2020 normals, Chapais: the nearest of its locations with every month’s temperatures.
- Other locations: precipitation and snowfall come from the nearest location that publishes all twelve months of them, as named above.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- 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 Waswanipi’s climate
How warm does Waswanipi get in summer?
The warmest month is July, when afternoons average 22.9°C.
How cold does Waswanipi get in winter?
Deep winter means January, when nights average −24.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Waswanipi get?
A normal year brings 1,080 mm, snow included as water: July is wettest at 117 mm, February driest at 54 mm.
Are these figures for Waswanipi itself?
Not really: Chapais, the closest location with normals, lies well away from Waswanipi.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Waswanipi →
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).