--- title: "Do I need winter tires or a block heater? | Prince George" description: "Winter tires are required on most highways around Prince George from October to April and strongly advised in town. Block heaters are optional." url: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/winter-tires/ markdown: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/winter-tires.md site: PG Pulse (https://princegeorgepulse.ca), The pulse of Prince George, British Columbia generated: 2026-10-16T16:07:37.771Z --- [Winter, weather and air](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/#weather) # Do I need winter tires or a block heater? Winter tires (mountain snowflake or M+S) are required on most highways around Prince George from October 1 to April 30, and they are strongly advised in town. A block heater is not required, but on the coldest days it makes starting easier and saves wear. Checked October 1, 2026. Numbers update on their own. The Province requires winter tires or chains on signed highways from October 1; most end April 30, some March 31. In town the City clears roads by priority, and side streets stay snowy for days after a storm. An average year brings 204 cm of snow and 17 days below −20 °C, when a block heater (plugged in for a few hours before you drive) helps. Book a tire changeover in September; shops fill up after the first snow. ## By the numbers, live - Snowfall in an average year 204 cm normals 1991–2020. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010). [More on snowfall in an average year](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/) - Days below −20 °C in an average year 17 normals 1991–2020. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010). [More on days below −20 °c in an average year](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/) - January average temperature −7.8 °C normals 1991–2020. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010). [More on january average temperature](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/) Still have a question? The assistant answers from all of our live data. [Ask the assistant](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/ask/?q=Do%20I%20need%20winter%20tires%20or%20a%20block%20heater%3F) ## On PG Pulse - [Snow and roads guide](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/city/snow-and-roads/) - [Getting around and highways](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/getting-around/) - [Tire shops](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/directory/c/tires/) ## Official sources - [Province of BC: winter driving and tire rules](https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/seasonal/winter-driving) Link checked October 14, 2026 - [DriveBC](https://www.drivebc.ca/) Link checked October 14, 2026 ## Related questions - [How bad is winter, and how do people cope?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/surviving-winter/) - [What is that smell, and which areas get it?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/mill-smell/) - [Where is the smoke coming from, and why are there air advisories in winter?](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/smoke-air-advisories/) [All answers](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/) · [Report a problem](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/feedback/) ## More in Living here [See all in Living here](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/browse/#living) - [Moving here Costs, jobs, taxes, services](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/move/) - [Jobs Local openings, searchable](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/jobs/) - [Household costs Rent, power, gas, utilities, fuel](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/tools/household-costs/) - [Housing Rents, prices, new builds](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/housing/) - [Neighbourhoods 31 areas, mapped](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/neighbourhoods/) - [Schools Every K-12 school, college and university](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/schools/) ## Data Machine-readable data behind this page, from the free PG Pulse API (https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/). ### Answer Source: [Answers compiled from our own pages and the official sources linked in each answer; live values from our public API](https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/). Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); each answer links its official sources. Updated 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z. JSON: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/answers/winter-tires - **id**: winter-tires - **theme**: 13 - **topic**: weather - **topicLabel**: Winter, weather and air - **question**: Do I need winter tires or a block heater? - **also**: Tire changeover price, Do I need an engine block heater - **short**: Winter tires (mountain snowflake or M+S) are required on most highways around Prince George from October 1 to April 30, and they are strongly advised in town. A block heater is not required, but on the coldest days it makes starting easier and saves wear. - **answer**: The Province requires winter tires or chains on signed highways from October 1; most end April 30, some March 31. In town the City clears roads by priority, and side streets stay snowy for days after a storm. An average year brings 204 cm of snow and 17 days below −20 °C, when a block heater (plugged in for a few hours before you drive) helps. Book a tire changeover in September; shops fill up after the first snow. - **checked**: 2026-10-01 - **page**: #### facts | key | label | api | value | asOf | source | sourceUrl | href | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | snowYear | Snowfall in an average year | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/climate/normals | 204 cm | normals 1991–2020 | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010) | https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/ | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/ | | coldDays | Days below −20 °C in an average year | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/climate/normals | 17 | normals 1991–2020 | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010) | https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/ | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/ | | janMean | January average temperature | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/api/v1/climate/normals | −7.8 °C | normals 1991–2020 | Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals (Prince George Airport 1991–2020; Prince George A 1981–2010) | https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/ | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/dashboard/climate/ | #### links | label | url | | --- | --- | | Snow and roads guide | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/city/snow-and-roads/ | | Getting around and highways | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/getting-around/ | | Tire shops | https://princegeorgepulse.ca/directory/c/tires/ | #### official | label | url | linkOk | linkCheckedAt | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Province of BC: winter driving and tire rules | https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/seasonal/winter-driving | true | 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z | | DriveBC | https://www.drivebc.ca/ | true | 2026-10-14T12:40:01.822Z | --- Markdown version of https://princegeorgepulse.ca/answers/winter-tires/. Guide for AI agents: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/llms.txt. Free API: https://princegeorgepulse.ca/developers/