Geography and Climate
At the foot of Bear Mountain ridge, the city developed around the Dawson Creek watercourse which flows eastward into the Pouce Coupe River. The city is located on the Pouce Coupe Prairie in the southwestern part of the Peace River Country, 72 km (44.7 mi) southeast of Fort St. John, and 134 km (83.3 mi) northwest of Grande Prairie. According to the Canada Land Inventory, the city is on soil that has moderate limitations, due to an adverse climate, that restrict the range of crops or require moderate conservation practices. The land is flat, but slopes upwards in the northeastern corner elevating a residential area over the rest of the city.
The city is in the British Columbia Peace Lowland ecosection of the Canadian Boreal Plains ecozone on the continental Interior Platform. Located in the Cordillera Climatic Region, it has a subhumid low boreal ecoclimate. In the summer, the city is often dusty and arid. Heavy rain showers are sporadic, lasting only a few minutes. In the winter, the city can get bitterly cold and dry. It is subject to very strong winds year round. Unlike the rest of the province, the city and its region use Mountain Standard Time throughout the year, since the area already has long daylight hours in the summer and short daylight hours in the winter.
| Climate data for Dawson Creek | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 15.0 (59.0) |
15.5 (59.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
29.0 (84.2) |
32.2 (90.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.5 (90.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
32.0 (89.6) |
27.5 (81.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
13.9 (57.0) |
34.5 (94.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
0.9 (33.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
16.5 (61.7) |
19.9 (67.8) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
16.0 (60.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−6.8 (19.8) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −20.6 (−5.1) |
−17.2 (1.0) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
2.2 (36.0) |
6.9 (44.4) |
8.6 (47.5) |
7.2 (45.0) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−12 (10.4) |
−18 (−0.4) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −48.3 (−54.9) |
−45 (−49.0) |
−44.4 (−47.9) |
−27.2 (−17.0) |
−13.3 (8.1) |
−5 (23.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−16.7 (1.9) |
−30.9 (−23.6) |
−39.8 (−39.6) |
−49.2 (−56.6) |
−49.2 (−56.6) |
| Wind chill | −57.5 | −53.2 | −51.1 | −33.5 | −16.6 | −7.4 | −2.1 | −5.4 | −15.3 | −37.6 | −55.4 | −54.5 | −57.5 |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 28.9 (1.138) |
22.3 (0.878) |
21.3 (0.839) |
18.1 (0.713) |
37.1 (1.461) |
76.0 (2.992) |
83.9 (3.303) |
60.4 (2.378) |
46.7 (1.839) |
28.8 (1.134) |
28.0 (1.102) |
30.6 (1.205) |
482.1 (18.98) |
| Rainfall mm (inches) | 0.7 (0.028) |
0.4 (0.016) |
1.0 (0.039) |
8.3 (0.327) |
33.8 (1.331) |
76.0 (2.992) |
83.9 (3.303) |
58.7 (2.311) |
43.4 (1.709) |
15.4 (0.606) |
3.5 (0.138) |
0.5 (0.02) |
325.6 (12.819) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 32.1 (12.64) |
25.0 (9.84) |
22.8 (8.98) |
10.1 (3.98) |
3.4 (1.34) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
1.7 (0.67) |
3.3 (1.3) |
14.5 (5.71) |
27.6 (10.87) |
33.6 (13.23) |
174.1 (68.54) |
| % humidity | 69.5 | 64.8 | 58.0 | 43.8 | 39.6 | 45.4 | 49.9 | 49.1 | 50.7 | 52.9 | 67.7 | 70.0 | 55.12 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 11.5 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 6.9 | 10.3 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 12.8 | 11.4 | 10.0 | 11.1 | 10.6 | 130.6 |
| Avg. rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 9.8 | 12.5 | 14.0 | 12.7 | 10.9 | 6.7 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 74.9 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 11.4 | 10.1 | 8.8 | 3.8 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 4.8 | 9.8 | 10.5 | 61.4 |
| Source: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
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