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Fort Mcmurray: weather history since 1916

Fort Mcmurray is a weather station located 369 m above sea level, 13 km from Fort McMurray. Its records go back to 1916: 103 years of temperature are available up to 2020, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Closed series: the records of this station end in 2020. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 1.4 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (0.4 °C): a difference of 0.9 °C. The warmest year of the series is 1987 (3.4 °C) and the coldest 1933 (−3.4 °C). The last complete year, 2020, ranks 30 out of 103, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2020, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.34 °C per decade. The station ranks 38 out of 240 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.

Annual mean temperature since 1916

−4−2024
19161930194019501960197019801990200020102020
Mean temperature of the year   10-year running mean   1961–1990 normal (0.4 °C)   1991–2020 normal (1.4 °C)

The first ten years of the series (1916–1926) average −1.0 °C; the last ten (2010–2020) average 1.7 °C, a difference of +2.7 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 6 fall after 1999. The warmest is 1987 (3.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 1.8 °C (2019) and bottoms out at −1.3 °C (1936).

Monthly normals: 1961–1990 against 1991–2020

The table compares, month by month, the mean temperature and the rainfall total of two thirty-year reference periods. The difference column shows what the recent period changes compared with the earlier one.

Monthly temperature and rainfall normals, 1961–1990 and 1991–2020
MonthTemp. 1961–1990Temp. 1991–2020DifferenceRain 1961–1990Rain 1991–2020Difference
January−19.5 °C−16.6 °C+2.9 °C–––
February−14.5 °C−13.1 °C+1.4 °C–––
March−7.7 °C−6.4 °C+1.3 °C–––
April2.9 °C2.9 °C0.0 °C–––
May10.2 °C10.0 °C−0.2 °C–––
June14.7 °C15.0 °C+0.3 °C–––
July16.7 °C17.4 °C+0.7 °C–––
August15.3 °C15.7 °C+0.4 °C–––
September9.3 °C10.2 °C+0.9 °C–––
October3.5 °C2.7 °C−0.8 °C–––
November−8.6 °C−7.1 °C+1.5 °C–––
December−17.0 °C−14.3 °C+2.7 °C–––

The largest temperature change is in January (+2.9 °C) and the smallest in October (−0.8 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.9 °C, and 9 months out of twelve are warmer than before.

Records at Fort Mcmurray

  • Warmest year: 3.4 °C, in 1987
  • Coldest year: −3.4 °C, in 1933
  • Warmest month: 20.2 °C, in July 2007
  • Coldest month: −33.0 °C, in January 1950

6.8 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Daily records are not part of the dataset for this station: only annual and monthly extremes are shown.

Temperature trend over 1961–2020

The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.34 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, about +2.0 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 240 stations (+0.25 °C per decade), by 0.09 °C per decade: the station ranks 38 out of 240.

Data source and licence

Data source: Environment and Climate Change Canada (dataset “AHCCD (ahccd-monthly) + climate-daily”), licence Open Government Licence – Canada. Last updated: 29 October 2026.

The data for Fort Mcmurray are shown as the source publishes them; this site does not correct them. A year is kept only if at least eleven months of measurements are available, and a normal is computed only with at least twenty years of data out of its thirty. Temperatures are rounded to 0.1 °C and rainfall to the millimetre. The station is one of 240 stations in Canada: the overview page lets you compare them.

Frequently asked questions

What is the annual mean temperature at Fort Mcmurray?

Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Fort Mcmurray is 1.4 °C. It was 0.4 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.9 °C.

What is the warmest year ever measured at Fort Mcmurray?

Since records began in 1916, the warmest year at Fort Mcmurray is 1987, at 3.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1933 (−3.4 °C).

Is the climate at Fort Mcmurray getting warmer?

Yes: at Fort Mcmurray, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.34 °C per decade between 1961 and 2020, +2.0 °C in total. 6 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.

Towns near this station

Neighbouring stations

See all stations in the weather history