Thunder Bay in Fall

In fall (September, October and November), Thunder Bay sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 206 mm of precipitation over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about 20°C in early September to -2°C by late November. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across fall, and the air most often feels dry.

Fall is Thunder Bay's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Thunder Bay's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
9°C
2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low
2°C
Precipitation
206 mm
29 wet days
Avg wind
14 km/h
Travel score
2.3
2nd-best season
Months
Sep · Oct · Nov

Temperature in Thunder Bay in Fall

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about 20°C in early September to -2°C by late November.

A typical fall day in Thunder Bay reaches about 9°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is September, the coolest November.

-20°-10°10°20°SepOctNov

How fall really feels in Thunder Bay

Once humidity and wind are folded in, fall brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 50 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
50
15 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Thunder Bay weather by month

How the three fall months (September, October and November) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-10° / -18°296.57.58.60.0
Feb-7° / -16°224.95.49.90.0
Mar-1° / -10°316.85.611.60.0
Apr / -3°548.3513.40.7
May13° / 6610.10.8153.5
Jun19° / 10°6510.5015.85.8
Jul22° / 14°7610.6015.56.6
Aug22° / 13°679.1014.16.7
Sep17° / 8410.5012.45.2
Oct / 7210.41.310.61.7
Nov / -5°497.85.790.0
Dec-6° / -13°387.37.88.20.0

Cloud cover in Fall

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across fall.

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Chance of precipitation in Fall

Any precipitationSnow

Thunder Bay gets around 206 mm of rain and snow over 29 wet days across fall. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%SepOctNov

Humidity in Fall

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

0%25%50%75%100%SepOctNov

Wind in Fall

Winds average 14 km/h across fall.

05101520SepOctNov

Sunrise & sunset in Fall

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 12 min in early September to 8 h 24 min by late November. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMSepOctNov

Solar energy in Fall

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across fall, about 2.4 kWh/m².

012345SepOctNov
Planning a trip in fall

Is fall a good time to visit Thunder Bay?

Our two travel scores rate fall for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

2.3
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
0.5
Beach & pool
2nd-best month of the year

fall is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Thunder Bay.

What to pack for Thunder Bay in Fall

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

In fall, Thunder Bay sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Thunder Bay in Fall

The nearest coast averages about 10°C across fall — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 15°C and coldest in March near 1°C.

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

0°5°10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan2Bracing
Feb1Bracing
Mar1Bracing
Apr2Bracing
May3Bracing
Jun4Bracing
Jul9Bracing
Aug15Cool
Sep14Bracing
Oct10Bracing
Nov6Bracing
Dec4Bracing

UV index in Thunder Bay in Fall

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across fall averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Thunder Bay peaks around June 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 17UV 8Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May6High
Jun8Very high
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Thunder Bay?

Thunder Bay sits at 48.4°N, 89.3°W, 188 m above sea level, in Canada. The nearest listed city is Marquette, 247 km away.

WausauWestonKenoraMarshfield

Topography around Thunder Bay

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Thunder Bay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 20 m around an average of 188 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 297 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 503 m.

The land around Thunder Bay is covered by artificial surfaces (41%) and trees (26%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and water (39%) within 16 km, and trees (57%) and water (40%) within 80 km.

3 km
20 m
16 km
297 m
80 km
503 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Fall weather nearby: Marquette 247 km · Duluth 278 km · Superior 283 km · Hibbing 295 km · Wausau 382 km · Weston 389 km · Kenora 411 km · Marshfield 419 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 Thunder Bay (48.382°, -89.2502°, elevation 188 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.