Climate of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Climate of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is a French Overseas Community and consists of eight islands south of the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. The islands have been French territory since the beginning of the nineteenth century, after a number of power changes between the French and British had taken place. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is currently the only remaining possession of France. A nice fact is that the area is geographically located on the continent of North America, but officially belongs to Europe. The archipelago has less than ten thousand inhabitants, who mainly have to live from fishing. The islands are hardly suitable for arable farming and there is no serious industry on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. Because cod fishing is the main source of income for the local inhabitants, people look to the future with fear. This is because the amount of fish – especially cod – in the oceans is rapidly declining due to overfishing.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has a cool maritime climate, with fairly cool winters, a cold spring and fairly pleasant summers. There is often a fairly strong wind on the islands, which in combination with the temperatures does not always provide the most pleasant living conditions. In the spring the wind decreases a bit, so there is an increasing chance of fog. It doesn’t get quite sunny until late summer in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month Water temperature
January 0℃ -7℃ 2 17 2℃
February -1℃ -8℃ 3 14 0℃
March 2℃ -5℃ 4 14 0℃
April 5℃ -1℃ 5 13 1℃
May 9℃ 2℃ 5 13 4℃
June 12℃ 5℃ 6 13 8℃
July 17℃ 10℃ 5 13 13℃
August 19℃ 12℃ 5 13 16℃
September 16℃ 9℃ 5 14 14℃
October 12℃ 5℃ 4 16 10℃
November 7℃ 1℃ 2 16 7℃
December 3℃ -4℃ 2 17 4℃

Best time to visit Saint-Pierre and Miquelon

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Saint-Pierre and Miquelon? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. The French Overseas Community of Saint Pierre and Miquelon is located south of Newfoundland. The archipelago is the coolest part of France. It is the location near Canada that ensures that you have to deal with a cool maritime climate here. This includes cool winters and very moderate summers. It only occasionally comes to summer temperatures of 25 degrees or slightly higher. Tropical temperatures of 30 degrees or higher do not occur in Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Best months

The best time to visit Saint Pierre and Miquelon is from June to August. During these summer months it is somewhat warm. The maximum temperatures are on average between 12 and 20 degrees Celsius. In September it is also quite pleasant in terms of temperature, but there is a greater chance of rain. The long-term average for September is about 140-150 millimeters of precipitation, while in the period June to August this is limited to around or slightly below a hundred millimeters.

Cool winters

The winter months are cool in Saint Pierre and Miquelon. It is that the relatively warm sea water tempers the temperatures slightly. From December to March, the temperature barely rises above freezing. At night it almost always freezes in winter. Sometimes there can be severe frost, but on average you have to count on -3 to -10 degrees Celsius. During the months of January, February and March it snows quite often. Saint Pierre and Miquelon can then be covered with white snow for weeks.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon