Fort McMurray in Spring
In spring (March, April and May), Fort McMurray sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near -4°C, with 79 mm of precipitation over about 19 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 3rd-wettest season.
Over the season highs climb from about -5°C in early March to 19°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.
Spring is Fort McMurray's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Fort McMurray's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- 2nd-warmest season
- Avg overnight low
- -4°C
- Precipitation
- 79 mm
- 19 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.5
- 2nd-best season
- Months
- Mar · Apr · May
Temperature in Fort McMurray in Spring
Over the season highs climb from about -5°C in early March to 19°C by late May.
A typical spring day in Fort McMurray reaches about 9°C and drops to -4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.
How spring really feels in Fort McMurray
Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 70 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in spring is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Fort McMurray weather by month
How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -12° / -21° | 15 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 0.0 |
| Feb | -8° / -19° | 12 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 9.1 | 0.0 |
| Mar | -0° / -13° | 17 | 5.3 | 5 | 11.4 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 9° / -3° | 24 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 13.9 | 2.1 |
| May | 17° / 4° | 37 | 7.6 | 0.8 | 16.1 | 5.5 |
| Jun | 21° / 9° | 79 | 11.7 | 0 | 17.4 | 6.0 |
| Jul | 23° / 12° | 82 | 13.4 | 0 | 16.9 | 6.3 |
| Aug | 22° / 10° | 63 | 10.3 | 0 | 14.9 | 6.5 |
| Sep | 16° / 5° | 51 | 8.5 | 0.3 | 12.5 | 4.9 |
| Oct | 7° / -2° | 28 | 6.4 | 3.2 | 10 | 1.1 |
| Nov | -4° / -11° | 18 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 0.0 |
| Dec | -10° / -19° | 16 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Spring
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across spring.
Chance of precipitation in Spring
Fort McMurray gets around 79 mm of rain and snow over 19 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Spring
Most of spring feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Spring
Winds average 10 km/h across spring.
Sunrise & sunset in Spring
Daylight runs from about 10 h 12 min in early March to 17 hours by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Spring
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.6 kWh/m².
Is spring a good time to visit Fort McMurray?
Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
spring is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fort McMurray.
What to pack for Fort McMurray in Spring
From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In spring, Fort McMurray sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near -4°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: sun protection. About 19 days see rain.
UV index in Fort McMurray in Spring
Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 2. 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 2 | Low |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 3 | Moderate |
| Jun | 5 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 4 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Air quality in Fort McMurray in Spring
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Level | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4 | Good |
| Feb | 2 | Good |
| Mar | 3 | Good |
| Apr | 4 | Good |
| May | 16 | Moderate |
| Jun | 8 | Good |
| Jul | 20 | Moderate |
| Aug | 8 | Good |
| Sep | 5 | Good |
| Oct | 1 | Good |
| Nov | 3 | Good |
| Dec | 5 | Good |
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.
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.
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
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.