Québec climate
Québec (Quebec, Canada) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The average temperature over the year is 5 °C41 °F, and about 1,146 mm45 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Québec climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −719 | −172 | −1210 | 662.6 |
| Feb | −522 | −164 | −1113 | 642.5 |
| Mar | −131 | −1014 | −522 | 722.8 |
| Apr | 846 | −130 | 338 | 933.7 |
| May | 1762 | 643 | 1253 | 953.7 |
| Jun | 2271 | 1254 | 1763 | 1134.5 |
| Jul | 2476 | 1660 | 2068 | 1234.9 |
| Aug | 2374 | 1558 | 1966 | 1084.3 |
| Sep | 2067 | 1050 | 1559 | 1094.3 |
| Oct | 1253 | 439 | 846 | 1194.7 |
| Nov | 439 | −327 | 033 | 903.5 |
| Dec | −326 | −1211 | −818 | 953.7 |
| Year | 2476 | −172 | 541 | 1,14645 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 97% | 67% | 1.4 | 8:56 |
| Feb | 96% | 66% | 2.3 | 10:14 |
| Mar | 94% | 63% | 3.5 | 11:46 |
| Apr | 86% | 67% | 4.5 | 13:31 |
| May | 81% | 69% | 5.2 | 15:01 |
| Jun | 82% | 65% | 5.7 | 15:51 |
| Jul | 84% | 62% | 5.6 | 15:30 |
| Aug | 84% | 60% | 4.9 | 14:12 |
| Sep | 84% | 57% | 3.8 | 12:29 |
| Oct | 86% | 70% | 2.2 | 10:47 |
| Nov | 90% | 74% | 1.3 | 9:17 |
| Dec | 96% | 74% | 1.0 | 8:33 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Québec is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 24 °C76 °F and a low of 16 °C60 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average −7 °C19 °F and lows −17 °C2 °F. The climate is extremely continental — the average temperature swings by 32 °C57.6 °F between the coldest and the warmest month.
It is wet, with about 1,146 mm45 in of precipitation per year. Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year. The wettest month is July (123 mm4.9 in), the driest is February (64 mm2.5 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 81% in May to 97% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 57%) are typical of September. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 4 km/h (2 mph) in July to 6 km/h (4 mph) in February. Daylight lasts from about 8.6 hours in December to 15.8 hours in June.
A lasting snow cover is typical in November–April, when the average snow depth in the reanalysis exceeds 10 cm (deepest in February, about 49 cm).
Best time to visit Québec
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are June–September: average highs of 20 °C67 °F to 24 °C76 °F with 108 mm4.3 in to 123 mm4.9 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of −7 °C19 °F.
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Québec
- Winter (December–February) — highs −719 to −3 °C26 °F, lows −172 to −12 °C11 °F, about 75 mm2.9 in of precipitation a month. Pack heavy insulated clothing, thermal base layers, a warm hat, mittens and insulated boots.
- Spring (March–May) — highs −131 to 17 °C62 °F, lows −1014 to 6 °C43 °F, about 87 mm3.4 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2271 to 24 °C76 °F, lows 1254 to 16 °C60 °F, about 115 mm4.5 in of precipitation a month. Pack light layers — T-shirts plus a light sweater or jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
- Autumn (September–November) — highs 439 to 20 °C67 °F, lows −327 to 10 °C50 °F, about 106 mm4.2 in of precipitation a month. Pack long sleeves, a sweater and a medium jacket and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
How Québec compares
Compared with Montréal, about 233 km to the southwest, Québec is on average 0.4 °C0.6 °F cooler and receives 6% more precipitation (1,146 mm45 in vs 1,086 mm43 in). The difference is largest in April (1.1 °C1.9 °F cooler).
Of the 40 places in Canada covered by World Climates, Québec is the 32nd warmest by annual mean temperature and the 10th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Canada climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia, Dfb), Balashikha (Russia, Dfb) and Moscow (Russia, Dfb).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Lévis (pop. 143,414). Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Québec, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Trois-Rivières 114 km · 5 °C41 °F · 1,054 mm42 in
- Sherbrooke 166 km · 6 °C42 °F · 1,135 mm45 in
- Saguenay 179 km · 3 °C38 °F · 972 mm38 in
- Montréal 233 km · 5 °C41 °F · 1,086 mm43 in
- Ottawa 379 km · 6 °C43 °F · 981 mm39 in
- Manchester 425 km · 9 °C48 °F · 1,181 mm46 in
- Boston 495 km · 10 °C50 °F · 1,207 mm48 in
- Kingston 501 km · 9 °C48 °F · 942 mm37 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Québec?
July is the warmest month in Québec, with an average high of 24 °C (76 °F) and an average low of 16 °C (60 °F).
What is the coldest month in Québec?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of -7 °C (19 °F) and an average low of -17 °C (2 °F).
When does it rain the most in Québec?
July is the wettest month with about 123 mm (4.9 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 64 mm (2.5 in).
What is the best time to visit Québec?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are June–September.
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 332 m, while Québec lies at about 54 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +1.8 °C3.3 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.