Climate and average weather in Charlesbourg

In Charlesbourg, the summers are warm, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late May to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Charlesbourg typically varies from -17°C to 23°C, and is rarely below -28°C or above 28°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Charlesbourg for warm-weather activities is from late May to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
23°
Coldest
Jan
-17°
Wettest
Jul
147 mm
Driest
Feb
75 mm
Rain / yr
1400 mm
156 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
163 m
46.9°N
Clearest
Sep
61% cloud

Charlesbourg weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late May to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Charlesbourg, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.5 months, from May 13 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 15°C. The hottest month of the year in Charlesbourg is July, with an average high of 23°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from December 5 to March 9, with daily high temperatures below -3°C. The coldest month of the year in Charlesbourg is January, with an average low of -17°C and high of -8°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in May.

-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-8-17
Feb-7-16
Mar-1-10
Apr7-2
May154
Jun2110
Jul2313
Aug2212
Sep177
Oct91
Nov2-5
Dec-5-12

How hot and cold Charlesbourg really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -25°C (around January 22), with roughly 212 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 136 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-8-8-24-17
Feb-7-7-23-16
Mar-1-1-15-10
Apr77-6-2
May151524
Jun2121910
Jul23231313
Aug22221112
Sep171757
Oct99-21
Nov22-10-5
Dec-5-5-18-12

Average hourly temperature in Charlesbourg

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 23°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -17°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Charlesbourg weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -17°9412.212.68.80.0
Feb-7° / -16°759.810.4100.0
Mar-1° / -10°9110.91011.60.0
Apr / -2°11412.36.713.30.9
May15° / 11413.90.914.84.3
Jun21° / 10°13213.7015.65.7
Jul23° / 13°14716.1015.35.8
Aug22° / 12°13214.70146.0
Sep17° / 12912.50.112.45.0
Oct / 14013.12.510.61.9
Nov / -5°11913.49.29.20.0
Dec-5° / -13°11213.3138.40.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Charlesbourg gets about 1400 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.3 months, from around May 15 to Aug 23, peaking in July at about 55% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 2.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 147 mm over about 16 wet days; February is the driest, with 75 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 4 · 55%Feb 2 · 33%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3912
Feb3510
Mar3611
Apr4112
May4414
Jun4714
Jul5216
Aug4615
Sep4213
Oct4313
Nov4513
Dec4313

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Charlesbourg collects about 1400 mm of rain across 156 wet days — roughly 117 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 147 mm, while February is the driest at just 75 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 30% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150175JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec947591114114132147132129140119112
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan941213
Feb751010
Mar911110
Apr114127
May114141
Jun132140
Jul147160
Aug132150
Sep129130
Oct140133
Nov119139
Dec1121313

Snow in Charlesbourg

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Charlesbourg averages about 65 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 30 to May 19 — about 7.6 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 12 days of snow and an estimated 74 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 394 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 4
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1374
Feb1075
Mar1064
Apr738
May14
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct311
Nov946
Dec1382

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Charlesbourg, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 12 and lasts for 4.0 months, ending around October 11. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 12 and lasts for 3.3 months, ending around January 18. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 70% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 23 · 50%Dec 3 · 29%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3664
Feb3862
Mar3664
Apr3466
May3466
Jun3763
Jul4159
Aug4852
Sep4555
Oct3565
Nov3070
Dec3169

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 15 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 8 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.87:334:16
Feb10.07:004:59
Mar11.66:075:42
Apr13.35:056:26
May14.84:177:06
Jun15.63:567:35
Jul15.34:117:31
Aug14.04:486:50
Sep12.45:305:49
Oct10.66:114:49
Nov9.26:574:04
Dec8.47:313:52

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Charlesbourg averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 2.2 months, from around Aug 2 to Oct 7. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is November, down near 5 sunny days — about 43% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 159 daysNov 285 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan8Gloomy
Feb8Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug8Gloomy
Sep9Mixed
Oct6Gloomy
Nov5Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Charlesbourg, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.3 months, from around June 10 to September 17. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 25% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 18 to June 9, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 27 · 100%Jul 27 · 71%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May97310
Jun731881
Jul4233205
Aug5029183
Sep811361
Oct99100
Nov100000
Dec100000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Charlesbourg is steady company: average speeds sit near 10 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeMar 5 · 11 km/hAug 4 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb11calm
Mar11calm
Apr11calm
May11calm
Jun10calm
Jul9calm
Aug9calm
Sep10calm
Oct11calm
Nov11calm
Dec11calm

Best time to visit Charlesbourg

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Charlesbourg throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early June, Charlesbourg is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Charlesbourg for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 22 · 6.0

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.0poor
Apr1.0poor
May4.2fair
Jun5.6good
Jul5.8good
Aug5.9good
Sep5.0fair
Oct1.9poor
Nov0.0poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Charlesbourg for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 25 · 4.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Charlesbourg, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 23°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -8°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Charlesbourg sees daytime highs around 23°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: light clothes and sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Charlesbourg by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Charlesbourg peaks around July 13 at about 7 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Jan 10UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug3Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Charlesbourg

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar30
Apr50
May6.50
Jun7.52
Jul84
Aug3.50
Sep50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Charlesbourg typically lasts about 181 days, from around April 26 to October 23 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 18 to September 24.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2410%Apr 2650%May 1890%Sep 2490%Oct 2350%Nov 2710%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan231
Feb228
Mar731
Apr3230
May8618
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep946
Oct6331
Nov1930
Dec531

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Charlesbourg banks about 683 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May22
Jun156
Jul237
Aug203
Sep65
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Charlesbourg receives about 3.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.2 and 5.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 16. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.2 kWh/m² — roughly 79% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 175.8 kWhDec 131.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.6Dim
Feb2.5Moderate
Mar3.8Moderate
Apr4.8Bright
May5.4Bright
Jun5.7Bright
Jul5.5Bright
Aug4.8Bright
Sep3.6Moderate
Oct2.3Moderate
Nov1.4Dim
Dec1.1Dim

Where is Charlesbourg?

Charlesbourg sits at 46.9°N, 71.3°W, 163 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is La Haute-Saint-Charles, 5.0 km away.

Topography around Charlesbourg

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Charlesbourg.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Charlesbourg has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 255 m around an average of 196 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 757 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,173 m.

The land around Charlesbourg is covered by trees (74%) within 3 km, trees (65%) within 16 km, and trees (75%) within 80 km.

3 km
255 m
16 km
757 m
80 km
1,173 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: La Haute-Saint-Charles 5.0 km · Neufchâtel-Est–Lebourgneuf 6.0 km · Les Rivières 9.0 km · Beauport 10 km · La Cité-Limoilou 10 km · Quebec City 12 km · L'Ancienne-Lorette 12 km · Sainte-Foy 13 km

Canada travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 83% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$55,698
2025
Happiness
6.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
2
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Christian 53%none 35%Muslim 5%Hindu 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Charlesbourg (46.899°, -71.305°, elevation 163 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).