With severe winters except during periods of warming chinook winds, mild to warm summers and only three months which average temperature is higher than 10 °C , very slightly below to be considered a humid continental climate (Dfb) as May averages 9.9 °C (49.8 °F); and falls into the Natural Resources Canada (NRC) Plant Hardiness Zone 3a.
The community lies at a lower elevation than most other parts of Alberta, so under the right conditions it can be a “hot spot” for Alberta, or even all of Canada (as in April 1980 when its daily mean temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) was unsurpassed by any other Canadian station).
Temperatures range from an average of −17.4 °C (0.7 °F) in January, to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) in July. The average annual precipitation is 418.6 mm (16.48 in) and falls mainly in the summer months. Average annual snowfall is 133.8 cm (52.7 in), most of which falls between October and April.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Fort McMurray was 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) on July 18, 1941. The lowest temperature ever recorded was −53.3 °C (−63.9 °F) on February 1, 1917 and December 31, 1933.