Sorel is a weather station located 15 m above sea level, 1 km from Sorel-Tracy. Its records go back to 1915: 97 years of temperature are available up to 2019, along with rainfall and a comparison with two reference normals. Closed series: the records of this station end in 2019. Over 1991–2020 the annual mean temperature there is 6.8 °C, clearly higher than over 1961–1990 (6.1 °C): a difference of 0.8 °C. The warmest year of the series is 2010 (8.4 °C) and the coldest 1917 (3.0 °C). The last complete year, 2019, ranks 52 out of 97, from warmest to coldest. Over 1961–2019, the annual mean temperature changes by +0.29 °C per decade. The station ranks 79 out of 240 stations, from the fastest rise to the slowest.
Annual mean temperature since 1915
The first ten years of the series (1915–1924) average 4.5 °C; the last ten (2010–2019) average 7.3 °C, a difference of +2.8 °C. Of the ten warmest years in the series, 8 fall after 1999. The warmest is 2010 (8.4 °C). The ten-year running mean peaks at 7.3 °C (2018) and bottoms out at 4.0 °C (1926).
Annual rainfall since 1915
On average 1089 mm of rain falls per year over the 93 documented years. The wettest year, 1928, received 1570 mm; the driest, 1970, only 791 mm, which is 2.0 times less. The 1991–2020 normal (1014 mm per year) is 17 mm (1.6 %) below the 1961–1990 one (1031 mm). Over 1991–2020, July is on average the wettest month (106 mm) and February the driest (61 mm). Between 1994 and 2016, 8 years out of 20 exceeded the series average.
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.
| Month | Temp. 1961–1990 | Temp. 1991–2020 | Difference | Rain 1961–1990 | Rain 1991–2020 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −10.8 °C | −9.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 78 mm | 75 mm | −3 mm |
| February | −9.1 °C | −8.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 62 mm | 61 mm | −1 mm |
| March | −2.6 °C | −2.3 °C | +0.3 °C | 69 mm | 65 mm | −4 mm |
| April | 5.8 °C | 5.8 °C | 0.0 °C | 71 mm | 85 mm | +14 mm |
| May | 13.0 °C | 13.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 87 mm | 84 mm | −3 mm |
| June | 18.5 °C | 19.0 °C | +0.5 °C | 88 mm | 101 mm | +13 mm |
| July | 21.2 °C | 21.6 °C | +0.4 °C | 89 mm | 106 mm | +17 mm |
| August | 19.7 °C | 20.6 °C | +0.9 °C | 108 mm | 87 mm | −21 mm |
| September | 14.4 °C | 16.1 °C | +1.7 °C | 98 mm | 96 mm | −2 mm |
| October | 8.5 °C | 8.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 89 mm | 88 mm | −1 mm |
| November | 1.5 °C | 1.9 °C | +0.4 °C | 95 mm | 77 mm | −18 mm |
| December | −7.4 °C | −5.2 °C | +2.2 °C | 97 mm | 89 mm | −8 mm |
The largest temperature change is in December (+2.2 °C) and the smallest in April (0.0 °C); over the year the mean difference is +0.8 °C, and 11 months out of twelve are warmer than before. For rainfall, the largest difference is in July (+17 mm) and the smallest in August (−21 mm).
Records at Sorel
- Warmest year: 8.4 °C, in 2010
- Coldest year: 3.0 °C, in 1917
- Driest year: 791 mm, in 1970
- Wettest year: 1570 mm, in 1928
- Warmest month: 24.3 °C, in July 2020
- Coldest month: −19.0 °C, in January 1920
- Wettest month: 374 mm, in November 1927
- Hottest day: 37.8 °C, on 27 June 1941
- Coldest day: −41.0 °C, on 4 January 1981
- Heaviest rain in one day: 150.5 mm, on 9 August 2024
5.4 °C separate the warmest year of the series from the coldest. Between the hottest and the coldest day on record, the range reaches 78.8 °C.
Temperature trend over 1961–2019
The regression line of annual mean temperature changes by +0.29 °C per decade between 1961 and 2019, about +1.7 °C over the whole period. That is faster than the median of the 240 stations (+0.25 °C per decade), by 0.04 °C per decade: the station ranks 79 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 Sorel 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 Sorel?
Over 1991–2020, the annual mean temperature at Sorel is 6.8 °C. It was 6.1 °C over 1961–1990, a difference of +0.8 °C.
What is the warmest year ever measured at Sorel?
Since records began in 1915, the warmest year at Sorel is 2010, at 8.4 °C on average. The coldest is 1917 (3.0 °C).
Is the climate at Sorel getting warmer?
Yes: at Sorel, the annual mean temperature rises by 0.29 °C per decade between 1961 and 2019, +1.7 °C in total. 8 of the 10 warmest years in the series fall after 1999.
Towns near this station
Neighbouring stations