Climate and average weather in Rivière-du-Loup

In Rivière-du-Loup, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are frigid, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: mid June to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Rivière-du-Loup typically varies from -14°C to 20°C, and is rarely below -24°C or above 24°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 Rivière-du-Loup for warm-weather activities is from mid June to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
20°
Coldest
Jan
-14°
Wettest
Oct
117 mm
Driest
Feb
60 mm
Rain / yr
1056 mm
138 wet days
Daylight
8.2–15.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
56 m
47.8°N
Clearest
Sep
58% cloud

Rivière-du-Loup is town in Quebec, Canada.

Density
134/km²
people per km²
Founded
1850

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

Rivière-du-Loup 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 mid June to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 4.1 months, from May 24 to September 25, with daily high temperatures above 14°C. The hottest month of the year in Rivière-du-Loup is July, with an average high of 20°C and low of 14°C.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from December 8 to March 12, with daily high temperatures below -2°C. The coldest month of the year in Rivière-du-Loup is January, with an average low of -14°C and high of -8°C.

Days typically run about 6°C warmer than nights year-round.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-7-14
Feb-6-14
Mar-1-8
Apr5-1
May125
Jun1710
Jul2014
Aug2013
Sep169
Oct94
Nov2-2
Dec-4-9

How hot and cold Rivière-du-Loup 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 -23°C (around January 25), with roughly 201 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 126 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-7-7-22-14
Feb-7-6-21-14
Mar-1-1-15-8
Apr55-6-1
May121225
Jun1717910
Jul20201414
Aug20201313
Sep151689
Oct9904
Nov22-7-2
Dec-4-4-16-9

Average hourly temperature in Rivière-du-Loup

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 20°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -14°C.

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

Rivière-du-Loup 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° / -14°679.910.68.60.0
Feb-7° / -14°608.99.49.90.0
Mar-1° / -8°7710.710.111.60.0
Apr / -1°9312.26.313.40.4
May12° / 9312.61.114.93.0
Jun17° / 10°9312.4015.75.2
Jul20° / 14°8912.7015.45.9
Aug20° / 13°8711.9014.16.1
Sep16° / 10111.7012.44.6
Oct / 11712.31.510.61.7
Nov / -2°9111.56.99.10.0
Dec-4° / -9°8810.910.68.30.0

Chance of rain

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

Rivière-du-Loup gets about 1056 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 4.4 months, from around Mar 30 to Aug 11, peaking in July at about 46% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Feb 1.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 117 mm over about 12 wet days; February is the driest, with 60 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 1 · 46%Feb 1 · 27%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3210
Feb329
Mar3611
Apr4012
May4013
Jun4212
Jul4213
Aug3812
Sep3912
Oct4012
Nov3812
Dec3511

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Rivière-du-Loup collects about 1056 mm of rain across 138 wet days — roughly 88 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 117 mm, while February is the driest at just 60 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 29% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec67607793939389871011179188
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan671011
Feb6099
Mar771110
Apr93126
May93131
Jun93120
Jul89130
Aug87120
Sep101120
Oct117122
Nov91127
Dec881111

Snow in Rivière-du-Loup

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.

Rivière-du-Loup averages about 57 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 7 to May 24 — about 7.6 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 10 days of snow and an estimated 58 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 339 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 2
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1158
Feb964
Mar1061
Apr634
May16
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct27
Nov742
Dec1167

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Rivière-du-Loup, 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 May 26 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around October 10. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around February 15. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% 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 18 · 55%Jan 6 · 29%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3268
Feb3961
Mar3763
Apr3763
May3862
Jun4357
Jul4555
Aug5248
Sep4951
Oct3862
Nov3367
Dec3367

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 13, brings about 15 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 13, only 8 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.67:294:05
Feb9.96:554:50
Mar11.66:015:35
Apr13.44:576:20
May14.94:077:02
Jun15.73:457:32
Jul15.44:007:27
Aug14.14:396:45
Sep12.45:225:43
Oct10.66:064:41
Nov9.16:533:54
Dec8.37:283:41

Sunny days

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

Rivière-du-Loup averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 11 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.0 months, from around Jun 9 to Oct 8. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 10 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is January, down near 5 sunny days — about 47% fewer than the September peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedSep 1611 daysJan 64 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb7Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug9Mixed
Sep10Mixed
Oct7Gloomy
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 Rivière-du-Loup, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 14% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 20 · 100%Jul 30 · 82%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May99100
Jun821440
Jul4937131
Aug5334120
Sep871120
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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Rivière-du-Loup is typically light breeze, near 14 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.7 months, from around Sep 24 to Apr 15. The windiest month is January, averaging about 15 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 16 to Sep 23, with July the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 1 · 16 km/hJul 30 · 11 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan15light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar14light breeze
Apr13light breeze
May12light breeze
Jun12calm
Jul11calm
Aug12calm
Sep13light breeze
Oct14light breeze
Nov15light breeze
Dec15light breeze

Best time to visit Rivière-du-Loup

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late June, Rivière-du-Loup 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 Rivière-du-Loup for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 12 · 6.2

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
Apr0.5poor
May3.0poor
Jun5.1fair
Jul5.9good
Aug6.0good
Sep4.6fair
Oct1.7poor
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 Rivière-du-Loup for hot-weather activities is from early July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 29 · 3.6

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 Rivière-du-Loup, 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 20°C), the essentials are 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, Rivière-du-Loup sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 14°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 13 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Rivière-du-Loup

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 11°C and coldest in February near -0°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

0°5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan0Bracing
Feb0Bracing
Mar0Bracing
Apr1Bracing
May2Bracing
Jun8Bracing
Jul11Bracing
Aug11Bracing
Sep9Bracing
Oct6Bracing
Nov2Bracing
Dec1Bracing

UV index (midday) in Rivière-du-Loup 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 Rivière-du-Loup peaks around July 12 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 12UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul7Very high
Aug3Moderate
Sep5Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Rivière-du-Loup

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 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 3.5 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
Mar1.50
Apr40
May60
Jun70
Jul7.53.5
Aug20
Sep4.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Rivière-du-Loup typically lasts about 198 days, from around April 22 to November 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 9 to October 16.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2410%Apr 2250%May 990%Oct 1690%Nov 550%Dec 210%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan231
Feb228
Mar731
Apr3830
May937
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct8814
Nov3130
Dec631

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. Rivière-du-Loup banks about 610 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
May4
Jun116
Jul217
Aug200
Sep72
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.

Rivière-du-Loup receives about 3.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.1 and 6.0 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 13 to Sep 17. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.9 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.1 kWh/m² — roughly 81% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 166.0 kWhDec 171.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.5Dim
Feb2.5Moderate
Mar3.8Moderate
Apr4.8Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.9Bright
Jul5.7Bright
Aug5.0Bright
Sep3.7Moderate
Oct2.3Moderate
Nov1.4Dim
Dec1.1Dim

Where is Rivière-du-Loup?

Rivière-du-Loup sits at 47.8°N, 69.5°W, 56 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Rimouski, 102 km away.

Topography around Rivière-du-Loup

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Rivière-du-Loup.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rivière-du-Loup has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 160 m around an average of 61 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 308 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,042 m.

The land around Rivière-du-Loup is covered by trees (26%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, water (40%) and trees (32%) within 16 km, and trees (71%) and water (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
160 m
16 km
308 m
80 km
1,042 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Rimouski 102 km · Edmundston 104 km · Saguenay 131 km · Chicoutimi 131 km · Jonquière 143 km · Beauport 164 km · Lévis 168 km · Charlesbourg 168 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 Rivière-du-Loup (47.827°, -69.5424°, elevation 56 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).