Environment Canada - Atlantic Climate Centre

• Introduction
• Temperatures
• Precipitation

With its rugged rock and, bleak fiorded coast, and largely unexplored interior, Labrador is one of the most unspoiled parts of Canada. Its climate may be described as somewhere between inhospitable and invigorating.

The climate of Labrador is more Arctic than Atlantic. Because it is on the eastern side of the continent, it experiences strong seasonal contrasts in the characteristics and movement of air masses. The predominant flow is off the land. The rugged Torngat Mountains in the north, with peaks above 1500 m, and the Mealy Mountains in the south, with peaks about 1200 m, confine the moderating influence of the Atlantic Ocean to the rocky islands and near shore.

The limitation of the ocean's influence,however, is not a serious disadvantage, because in this region its effect on the climate is generally unpleasant. The Labrador sea is infested with floating pack ice and icebergs for eight months of the year. The masses of ice keep sea temperatures below 4C. An east wind off the Labrador Current is a cool wind in summer, often with light rain or drizzle. In winter, when the Atlantic air is relatively mild, the accompanying weather includes cloud and frequent snowflurries. Whenever easterly winds bring very moist air from the Atlantic, widespread fog occurs.

Temperature

Winters are very cold, with typical daytime temperatures for January between -10 and -15C, colder than Newfoundland and more like the frigidity of the southern Prairies. An occasional incursion of Atlantic air will warm up the winter. The summer season is brief and cool along the coast because of the cold Labrador Current. July average temperatures are from 8 to 10C along the coast but are 3 to 5C warmer in the interior. The pleasantness of the summer day along the coast is often determined by the wind direction--westerly winds bring clear, mild continental air, whereas easterlies, blowing off the Labrador Current, bring cold,cloudy, and moist weather.

Precipitation

Precipitation is heaviest in the south and decreases northwards. On the whole it is much lighter than in Newfoundland, although amounts can vary considerably from year to year.

Southern Labrador is not unlike the moist northern shores of Newfoundland, with 1000 mm, as a typical yearly fall of precipitation. About 45% of this occurs as snow. Over much of Labrador 800 mm is a more typical amount, with about half of it snow. In summer, rainfall is quite reliable, with seasonal totals seldom less than 175 mm in the north and 275 mm in the south.

Snowfall is heavy, with Churchill Falls in the interior having 481 cm, making it one of the snowiest places in Canada. Goose Bay has a mean snowfall of 445 cm. In the south, Cartwright averages 440 cm, and in the north Nain is typical with 424 cm. - The ground is snow-covered for eight months in the far north and for six months in the south..