Candle Lake has some of the coldest winter nights among Canadian towns
Peak summer warmth arrives in July, with afternoons near 24.2°C. Precipitation follows the seasons: June brings about 7.5 times as much as February. Rain and snow together come to less here than on 86% of Canadian towns. Have the furnace checked before October to April, the months that average under 10°C.
The nearest ECCC normals location is Prince Albert, 65 km south: at that distance its figures describe the region more than Candle Lake itself.
A year in Candle Lake at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Candle Lake’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan beside it.
What a year in Candle Lake feels like
Seasons and months as ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals give them: a typical day’s high and low.
About 209 frosts and 94 warm days a year
The frost season runs September to May, and January freezes nearly every night. On about 58 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
432 mm of precipitation in a typical year
9th wettest of 105 towns of 2,500+ in Saskatchewan. About 71 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
112 cm of snow in a typical year
Snow falls from October to May, most of all in January (about 23 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in Candle Lake
89% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
One degree below 18°C for one day makes one heating degree day; the year’s days are added together. A house here needs more heating than almost every Canadian town.
Living with Candle Lake’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
The growing season between frosts lasts about 113 days, roughly 24 May to 15 September.
The comfortable months for a day outside, highs of 17–27°C and nights of 8°C or more: Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Frostbite weather, a wind chill under −20, turns up on about 84 days a year.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 17 days a year.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers Candle Lake’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Prince Albert
ECCC builds the Prince Albert normals from 3 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 65 km south |
| Station altitude | 428 m |
| Completeness | at least 25 years |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −46.1°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 36.5°C |
| Average wind | 11.8 km/h on average, most often from the west |
| Next-nearest location | Nipawin, 98 km |
How Candle Lake compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Saskatchewan.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Candle Lake’s own would show the same figures). Candle Lake has few close neighbours with figures, so the list reaches 78–110 km out.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candle Lake Prince Albert | 24.2°C | −22.8°C | 432 mm |
| Torch River No. 488 78 km · Nipawin | 23.8°C about the same | −23.4°C 0.6°C colder | 424 mm |
| Melfort 110 km · Melfort | 23.4°C 0.8°C cooler | −21.1°C 1.7°C milder | 397 mm |
| Big River No. 555 110 km · Meadow Lake | 23.7°C 0.5°C cooler | −22.8°C about the same | 407 mm |
Candle Lake 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 | −11.6°C | −22.8°C | −17.2°C | 19 mm | 23 cm |
| February | −7.9°C | −20.3°C | −14.1°C | 12 mm | 14 cm |
| March | −1.4°C | −13.4°C | −7.4°C | 15 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 9.1°C | −3.8°C | 2.7°C | 28 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 17.3°C | 2.7°C | 10.1°C | 43 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21.5°C | 8.7°C | 15.2°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24.2°C | 11.6°C | 17.9°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23.4°C | 9.8°C | 16.7°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 17.6°C | 4.2°C | 10.9°C | 42 mm | under 1 cm |
| October | 8.5°C | −2.4°C | 3.1°C | 30 mm | 10 cm |
| November | −2.0°C | −10.9°C | −6.5°C | 16 mm | 16 cm |
| December | −9.3°C | −19.4°C | −14.4°C | 16 mm | 20 cm |
| Year | 7.4°C | −4.7°C | 1.4°C | 432 mm | 112 cm |
A December here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 4.3°C; the steadiest month is June
April has the widest record range, −30.4°C in 2020 to 30.3°C in 2001; the tick on each bar is the month’s normal.
Where Candle Lake’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: the Canadian Climate Normals, 1991–2020, at Prince Albert (the closest location with all twelve months of temperatures).
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- Not on this page: sunshine, which none of ECCC’s 450 locations publishes for 1991–2020, and the town’s own height above sea level, so no figure is adjusted for altitude.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Candle Lake’s climate
How warm does Candle Lake get in summer?
Expect highs near 24.2°C in July, the hottest month on average.
How cold does Candle Lake get in winter?
A typical January night falls to −22.8°C, the year’s low point.
How much rain and snow does Candle Lake get?
A normal year brings 432 mm, snow included as water: June is wettest at 86 mm, February driest at 12 mm.
How long does snow stay on the ground?
About 146 days a year count as snow-covered, with 1 cm or more.
Are these figures for Candle Lake itself?
No. The nearest normals are those of Prince Albert, a long way from Candle Lake.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Candle Lake →
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).