Saguenay Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Saguenay, Quebec has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Saguenay usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that Saguenay normally has heavy snowstorms and deep snow accumulated on the ground. Plus there's information on when the city can expect its first and last snowfalls of the season.
The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are long-term historical averages based on weather data gathered from 1981 to 2010 at the Bagotville Airport .
How Often it Snows in Saguenay
| Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|
| January | 21.9 | 56 |
| February | 13.9 | 35 |
| March | 15.1 | 38 |
| April | 8.0 | 20 |
| May | 0.5 | 1 |
| September | 0.0 | 0 |
| October | 1.1 | 3 |
| November | 9.8 | 25 |
| December | 20.9 | 53 |
| Year | 91.2 | 232 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19.1 | January | 25.5 | 65 |
| 15.4 | February | 21.8 | 55 |
| 13.1 | March | 18.0 | 46 |
| 7.2 | April | 9.5 | 24 |
| 1.1 | May | 1.4 | 3 |
| 0.1 | September | 0.0 | 0 |
| 3.5 | October | 3.3 | 8 |
| 13.7 | November | 18.4 | 47 |
| 19.6 | December | 28.9 | 73 |
| 92.8 | Year | 126.6 | 322 |
When Saguenay Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of autumn for Saguenay often arrives in October, but can show up as early as September.
The season's last snowfall can happen as late as May or even June.
Saguenay is normally free of snow every year in July and August.
How Many Snowstorms Saguenay Gets
Most days of snowfall in Saguenay leave less than five centimetres (2 inches) of fresh snow on the ground. For 22 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least five cm.
Big snowstorms of over ten cm a day normally occur seven or eight times a year. But major blizzards that dump 25 cm or more in one day are rare events that don't happen every year. Storms this severe are most likely to appear from November to February.
| 5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
25 cm 9.8 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.1 |
| February | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.1 |
| March | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 |
| April | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 |
| May | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.1 |
| December | 5.0 | 1.8 | 0.1 |
| Year | 21.7 | 7.4 | 0.3 |
How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Saguenay
For about 155 days a year, Saguenay has at least a centimetre of snow on the ground. In mid-winter the snowpack averages 45 cm deep.
Generally the snow cover builds in December and is at it's deepest around the end of February. Melting continues throughout March and April. But it can take until May before the snow is gone entirely.
| 1 cm 0.4 inches |
5 cm 2.0 inches |
10 cm 3.9 inches |
20 cm 7.9 inches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31.0 | 31.0 | January | 30.2 | 27.2 |
| 28.2 | 27.9 | February | 27.5 | 26.4 |
| 31.0 | 29.8 | March | 28.9 | 25.9 |
| 17.1 | 12.8 | April | 9.6 | 5.8 |
| 0.6 | 0.2 | May | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 1.3 | 0.4 | October | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 16.1 | 11.0 | November | 6.8 | 2.4 |
| 29.7 | 27.9 | December | 25.8 | 16.6 |
| 155.1 | 141.0 | Year | 128.9 | 104.3 |
References
Environment Canada. Meteorological Service of Canada. Canadian Climate Normals. 1981-2010 Climate Normals & Averages.
Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.