Halifax climate

Name: Halifax
Address: CA

Halifax is warmest in August, with average highs of 22 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -6.9 °C. December is the wettest month (139 mm) and May the driest (85 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Halifax averages 1,294 mm of rain, 5 days above 25 °C and 112 days below freezing.

Canada · population 471,559 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month August 22 °C
Coldest month January -6.9 °C
Driest month May 85 mm
Wettest month December 139 mm
Least cloud September 60 % cloud
Hottest on record July 31 °C
Coldest on record January -24 °C
Warmest sea August 17 °C

What to expectHalifax through the year

Halifax has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 0.05 °C in January to 22 °C in August, a swing of 22 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 5 days a year reach 25 °C, 0 of them reach 30 °C, 112 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C, in July.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 85 mm in May to 139 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Halifax is warmest in August at 17 °C and coldest in March at 0.7 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	0.0 °C	115 mm	71 %
February	0.1 °C	103 mm	68 %
March	2.9 °C	111 mm	67 %
April	7.4 °C	97 mm	69 %
May	12.4 °C	85 mm	70 %
June	17.2 °C	99 mm	69 %
July	21.0 °C	92 mm	68 %
August	21.7 °C	91 mm	62 %
September	18.9 °C	100 mm	60 %
October	13.4 °C	129 mm	62 %
November	8.2 °C	133 mm	70 %
December	3.3 °C	139 mm	73 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	0.0 °C	-6.9 °C	-3.6 °C	13.2 °C	-24.4 °C	0	27
February	0.1 °C	-6.7 °C	-3.5 °C	10.8 °C	-22.6 °C	0	25
March	2.9 °C	-3.3 °C	-0.5 °C	20.0 °C	-18.5 °C	0	25
April	7.4 °C	1.4 °C	4.1 °C	18.3 °C	-9.1 °C	0	8
May	12.4 °C	6.1 °C	8.9 °C	25.5 °C	-0.6 °C	0	0
June	17.2 °C	11.3 °C	13.9 °C	27.8 °C	2.9 °C	1	0
July	21.0 °C	15.8 °C	18.1 °C	31.0 °C	9.6 °C	2	0
August	21.7 °C	16.6 °C	18.8 °C	30.0 °C	11.4 °C	2	0
September	18.9 °C	13.9 °C	16.1 °C	29.6 °C	5.0 °C	0	0
October	13.4 °C	8.7 °C	10.9 °C	23.0 °C	-0.9 °C	0	0
November	8.2 °C	3.3 °C	5.6 °C	18.7 °C	-10.9 °C	0	6
December	3.3 °C	-2.2 °C	0.3 °C	15.3 °C	-17.2 °C	0	21

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	115 mm	11	9.2 h/day	71 %	76 %	23 km/h	2.7 °C
February	103 mm	10	10 h/day	68 %	75 %	23 km/h	0.8 °C
March	111 mm	11	12 h/day	67 %	75 %	23 km/h	0.7 °C
April	97 mm	12	13 h/day	69 %	77 %	21 km/h	2.0 °C
May	85 mm	11	15 h/day	70 %	80 %	19 km/h	5.0 °C
June	99 mm	11	16 h/day	69 %	82 %	18 km/h	9.5 °C
July	92 mm	10	15 h/day	68 %	85 %	17 km/h	14.0 °C
August	91 mm	10	14 h/day	62 %	83 %	17 km/h	16.6 °C
September	100 mm	9	13 h/day	60 %	80 %	19 km/h	16.3 °C
October	129 mm	10	11 h/day	62 %	77 %	21 km/h	13.2 °C
November	133 mm	11	9.6 h/day	70 %	77 %	22 km/h	9.2 °C
December	139 mm	13	8.8 h/day	73 %	77 %	24 km/h	5.6 °C

Where Halifax ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in North America in April	4thof 50	7.4 °C
The coolest places in North America in June	4thof 50	17 °C
The coolest places in North America in May	4thof 50	12 °C
The coolest places in North America in September	11thof 50	19 °C
The coolest places in North America year-round	11thof 50	11 °C
The coolest places in North America in July	12thof 50	21 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Halifax.

QuestionsCommon questions about Halifax’s climate

When is the best time to visit Halifax?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. July, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and May the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Halifax get?

In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 22 °C. About 0 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 31 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average -6.9 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 112 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Halifax?

December, averaging 139 mm over 13 days with rain. The driest month is May with 85 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,294 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Halifax rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.