Fort McMurray weather in September

In September, Fort McMurray sees average daytime highs of 16°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 51 mm of precipitation across 8.5 wet days and about 12.5 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 13°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in September, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 42 min at the start of September to 11 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, September is Fort McMurray's 5th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fort McMurray's year-round climate.

Daytime high
16°
5th warmest
Overnight low
9th coldest
Precipitation
51 mm
8.5 wet days
Daylight
12 h 30 min
6:06 AM – 6:34 PM
Cloud cover
64%
5th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
3.1 kWh/m²
Travel score
4.9
out of 10

Fort McMurray is municipality in Alberta, Canada.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 6.5 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
1,276/km²
people per km²
Founded
1947

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in September

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 18°C in the first days to 13°C by the end.

A typical September day in Fort McMurray reaches about 16°C in the afternoon and slips back to 5°C overnight — a 11°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 9°C and 23°C. Set against its neighbours, September runs about 6°C cooler than August and about 9°C warmer than October.

10°20°30°151015202530
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1197
2187
3187
4187
5187
6186
7176
8176
9176
10176
11165
12165
13165
14165
15165
16164
17154
18154
19154
20154
21154
22143
23143
24143
25143
26133
27133
28132
29122
30122

How September really feels in Fort McMurray

Once humidity and wind are folded in, September averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 6 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
6
wind chill below the day's low

The story in September is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fort McMurray weather by month

How September compares with the rest of the year at a glance. September is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-12° / -21°155.16.27.20.0
Feb-8° / -19°123.64.49.10.0
Mar-0° / -13°175.3511.40.0
Apr / -3°245.63.313.92.1
May17° / 377.60.816.15.5
Jun21° / 7911.7017.46.0
Jul23° / 12°8213.4016.96.3
Aug22° / 10°6310.3014.96.5
Sep16° / 518.50.312.54.9
Oct / -2°286.43.2101.1
Nov-4° / -11°185.76.27.80.0
Dec-10° / -19°164.85.76.60.0

Cloud cover in September

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in September.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 18% of September, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 58%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202530
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
14258
24258
34258
44258
54258
64258
74159
84159
94159
104159
114159
124060
134159
144159
154159
164258
174258
184258
194258
204456
214456
224456
234456
244258
254258
264258
274258
284258
294258
304258

Chance of precipitation in September

Any precipitationSnow

Fort McMurray gets around 51 mm of rain and snow over 8.5 wet days in September. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 28% and peaks near 34% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202530
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
1340
2340
3340
4340
5340
6340
7330
8321
9321
10311
11301
12301
13291
14281
15271
16271
17261
18261
19252
20252
21252
22242
23242
24242
25242
26232
27233
28233
29233
30224

Humidity in September

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of September feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, September lands in the dry band about 99% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202530
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
1973
2973
3973
4982
5982
6982
7991
8991
9991
10991
11991
12991
13991
141000
151000
161000
171000
181000
191000
201000
211000
221000
231000
241000
251000
261000
271000
281000
291000
301000

Wind in September

Winds average 10 km/h in September, the windiest month of the year.

Across September, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202530
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2111calm
2211calm
2311calm
2411calm
2511calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm

Sunrise & sunset in September

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 42 min at the start of September to 11 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 144 minutes over September. Sunrise moves from 5:35 AM to 6:35 AM, and sunset from 7:16 PM to 5:55 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202530
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.75:357:16
213.65:377:13
313.55:397:10
413.45:417:08
513.45:437:05
613.35:457:02
713.25:476:59
813.15:496:57
913.05:516:54
1013.05:536:51
1112.95:556:48
1212.85:576:45
1312.75:596:42
1412.66:026:40
1512.66:046:37
1612.56:066:34
1712.46:086:31
1812.36:106:28
1912.26:126:25
2012.16:146:23
2112.16:166:20
2212.06:186:17
2311.96:206:14
2411.86:226:11
2511.76:256:09
2611.76:276:06
2711.66:296:03
2811.56:316:00
2911.46:335:57
3011.36:355:55

Solar energy in September

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in September, about 3.1 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.49 kWh/m² to a high of 5.84 kWh/m² in June across the year — September's 3.1 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202530
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
13.8Moderate
23.7Moderate
33.7Moderate
43.6Moderate
53.6Moderate
63.5Moderate
73.5Moderate
83.4Moderate
93.4Moderate
103.3Moderate
113.3Moderate
123.2Moderate
133.2Moderate
143.2Moderate
153.1Moderate
163.1Moderate
173.0Moderate
183.0Moderate
193.0Moderate
202.9Moderate
212.9Moderate
222.8Moderate
232.8Moderate
242.7Moderate
252.7Moderate
262.6Moderate
272.6Moderate
282.5Moderate
292.5Moderate
302.5Moderate
Planning a trip in September

Is September a good time to visit Fort McMurray?

Our two travel scores rate September for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

4.9
Sightseeing
5th-best month of the year
0.8
Beach & pool
5th-best month of the year

September is a reasonable time to visit Fort McMurray for sightseeing.

What to pack for Fort McMurray in September

From September's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In September, Fort McMurray sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

UV index in Fort McMurray in September

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in September peaks around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fort McMurray peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May3Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Air quality in Fort McMurray in September

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where September falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Fort McMurray is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 14.2× the cleanest month (October, 1 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Fort McMurray's WHO annual average of 6.5 µg/m³.

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1618 µg/m³Oct 202 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan4Good
Feb2Good
Mar3Good
Apr4Good
May16Moderate
Jun8Good
Jul20Moderate
Aug8Good
Sep5Good
Oct1Good
Nov3Good
Dec5Good
Location & terrain

Where is Fort McMurray?

Fort McMurray sits at 56.7°N, 111.4°W, 258 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is St. Albert, 373 km away.

St. AlbertEdmontonSherwood ParkWîhkwêntôwinSpruce GroveStony PlainLloydminsterLeduc

Topography around Fort McMurray

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Fort McMurray has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 136 m around an average of 289 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 230 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 581 m.

The land around Fort McMurray is covered by trees (52%) within 3 km, trees (65%) and grassland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (78%) within 80 km.

3 km
136 m
16 km
230 m
80 km
581 m
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
September weather nearby: St. Albert 373 km · Edmonton 377 km · Sherwood Park 378 km · Wîhkwêntôwin 379 km · Spruce Grove 390 km · Stony Plain 392 km · Lloydminster 394 km · Leduc 409 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 Fort McMurray (56.7268°, -111.381°, elevation 258 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).