Saguenay climate
Saguenay (Quebec, Canada) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). The average temperature over the year is 3 °C38 °F, and about 972 mm38 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Saguenay climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin | Frost days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | −1014 | −21−5 | −154 | 542.1 | 31 |
| Feb | −818 | −19−2 | −138 | 512.0 | 28 |
| Mar | −228 | −1210 | −719 | 602.4 | 30 |
| Apr | 744 | −327 | 235 | 732.9 | 25 |
| May | 1762 | 541 | 1151 | 813.2 | 5 |
| Jun | 2271 | 1152 | 1762 | 933.7 | 0 |
| Jul | 2475 | 1558 | 1967 | 1084.3 | 0 |
| Aug | 2373 | 1457 | 1865 | 1054.1 | 0 |
| Sep | 1966 | 948 | 1457 | 1014.0 | 0 |
| Oct | 1051 | 236 | 644 | 973.8 | 11 |
| Nov | 236 | −524 | −130 | 742.9 | 27 |
| Dec | −621 | −155 | −1013 | 752.9 | 31 |
| Year | 2475 | −21−5 | 338 | 97238 | 188 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total. Frost days are for the whole grid cell.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 96% | 67% | 1.3 | 8:44 |
| Feb | 95% | 68% | 2.2 | 10:07 |
| Mar | 93% | 66% | 3.4 | 11:45 |
| Apr | 84% | 70% | 4.4 | 13:37 |
| May | 79% | 71% | 5.2 | 15:12 |
| Jun | 79% | 67% | 5.6 | 16:05 |
| Jul | 80% | 70% | 5.3 | 15:43 |
| Aug | 81% | 68% | 4.5 | 14:19 |
| Sep | 81% | 65% | 3.4 | 12:30 |
| Oct | 85% | 76% | 1.9 | 10:42 |
| Nov | 89% | 82% | 1.1 | 9:07 |
| Dec | 95% | 75% | 0.9 | 8:20 |
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 Saguenay is like
The warmest month is July, with an average high of 24 °C75 °F and a low of 15 °C58 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average −10 °C14 °F and lows −21 °C−5 °F. The climate is extremely continental — the average temperature swings by 34.7 °C62.4 °F between the coldest and the warmest month.
Annual precipitation is moderate at about 972 mm38 in. The wettest three-month stretch is July–September, which brings 32% of the annual total. The wettest month is July (108 mm4.3 in), the driest is February (51 mm2.0 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 79% in June to 96% in January. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 65%) are typical of September. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 5 km/h (3 mph) in July to 8 km/h (5 mph) in March. Daylight lasts from about 8.3 hours in December to 16.1 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 47 cm).
Best time to visit Saguenay
Based on these averages, the most comfortable months for sightseeing and outdoor activities are June–August: average highs of 22 °C71 °F to 24 °C75 °F with 93 mm3.7 in to 108 mm4.3 in of precipitation per month.
The most challenging month is January, which is cold, with average highs of −10 °C14 °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 Saguenay
- Winter (December–February) — highs −1014 to −6 °C21 °F, lows −21−5 to −15 °C5 °F, about 60 mm2.3 in of precipitation a month. Pack heavy insulated clothing, thermal base layers, a warm hat, mittens and insulated boots and an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings.
- Spring (March–May) — highs −228 to 17 °C62 °F, lows −1210 to 5 °C41 °F, about 72 mm2.8 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes, an extra layer for the cooler mornings and evenings and shoes with good grip, as frost is common.
- Summer (June–August) — highs 2271 to 24 °C75 °F, lows 1152 to 15 °C58 °F, about 102 mm4.0 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 236 to 19 °C66 °F, lows −524 to 9 °C48 °F, about 91 mm3.6 in of precipitation a month. Pack a warm coat, layers and closed shoes and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
How Saguenay compares
Compared with Québec, about 179 km to the south, Saguenay is on average 1.5 °C2.7 °F cooler and receives 15% less precipitation (972 mm38 in vs 1,146 mm45 in). The difference is largest in January (3.2 °C5.8 °F cooler).
Of the 40 places in Canada covered by World Climates, Saguenay is the 39th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 16th 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: Yoshkar-Ola (Russia, Dfb), Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia, Dfb) and Cheboksary (Russia, Dfb).
Nearby places
- Québec 179 km · 5 °C41 °F · 1,146 mm45 in
- Trois-Rivières 256 km · 5 °C41 °F · 1,054 mm42 in
- Sherbrooke 341 km · 6 °C42 °F · 1,135 mm45 in
- Montréal 376 km · 5 °C41 °F · 1,086 mm43 in
- Ottawa 485 km · 6 °C43 °F · 981 mm39 in
- Manchester 604 km · 9 °C48 °F · 1,181 mm46 in
- Kingston 624 km · 9 °C48 °F · 942 mm37 in
- Boston 674 km · 10 °C50 °F · 1,207 mm48 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Saguenay?
July is the warmest month in Saguenay, with an average high of 24 °C (75 °F) and an average low of 15 °C (58 °F).
What is the coldest month in Saguenay?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of -10 °C (14 °F) and an average low of -21 °C (-5 °F).
When does it rain the most in Saguenay?
July is the wettest month with about 108 mm (4.3 in) of precipitation; February is the driest with about 51 mm (2.0 in).
What is the best time to visit Saguenay?
Judging by long-term averages, the most comfortable months are June–August.
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 230 m, while Saguenay lies at about 84 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +0.9 °C1.7 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.