Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit , Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center · Public domainWinter nights in Portage la Prairie are colder than in 86% of Canadian towns
Expect July afternoons of about 25.4°C. Some 45°C separates winter nights from summer afternoons. Counting rain and snow together, it is drier than 76% of Canadian towns. From June to August, highs of 23–25°C make it easy to spend the day outdoors.
Measured at Portage Southport, 9.2 km south-west: ECCC’s normals for 1991–2020.
A year in Portage la Prairie at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about Portage la Prairie’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Manitoba beside it.
What a year in Portage la Prairie feels like
Each season’s and each month’s usual high and low, 1991–2020.
About 184 frosts and 105 warm days a year
From October to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 42 nights a year the air falls below −20°C.
Frost days by month
Average days at 0°C or below
Days above 20°C by month
Average days
493 mm of precipitation in a typical year
The most falls in June, the least in February. About 82 days a year bring 1 mm or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
About 126 cm of snow a year
Snow falls from October to May, most of all in December (about 27 cm).
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Portage Southport publishes no full year of snowfall, so these figures come from Winnipeg Richardson (Airport), 66 km away.
Heating a home in Portage la Prairie
91% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
ECCC sums, over the year, how many degrees each day’s average falls short of 18°C. Homes here need more heating than 83% of Canadian towns.
Living with Portage la Prairie’s climate
Gardening, time outside, winter cold and summer heat, from the 1991–2020 normals.
Between the last frost, near 19 May, and the first, near 28 September, lie about 130 frost-free days.
For long days outdoors, Jun, Jul and Aug bring highs of 17–27°C and lows of 8°C or more.
Parks & trails →Wind chill falls below −20 on about 77 days a year: cover skin and dress in layers.
Muggy heat with a humidex over 30 arrives on about 38 days a year.
For blizzards, floods and wildfire, turn to Portage la Prairie’s hazards page.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Portage Southport
ECCC builds the Portage Southport normals from 2 stations’ records over 1991–2020, joined where one replaced another.
| Distance from the town | 9.2 km south-west |
| Station altitude | 270 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Snowfall from | Winnipeg Richardson (Airport), 66 km |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −39.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.8°C |
| Average wind | 13.7 km/h on average, most often from the north-west |
| Next-nearest location | Winnipeg Richardson (Airport), 66 km |
How Portage la Prairie compares
Compared with 2,611 towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more across Canada; the dots mark the other normals locations in Manitoba.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on Portage la Prairie’s own would show the same figures). Distances here run 44–49 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Portage la Prairie.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portage la Prairie Portage Southport | 25.4°C | −19.1°C | 493 mm |
| Dufferin 44 km · Morden | 25.6°C about the same | −18.5°C 0.6°C milder | 528 mm |
| St. François Xavier 44 km · Winnipeg Richardson (Airport) | 25.8°C about the same | −21.2°C 2.1°C colder | 519 mm |
Portage la Prairie weather by month
Average daily high and low, mean temperature, rain and snow (as water) and snowfall by month, 1991–2020.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −10.0°C | −19.1°C | −14.6°C | 18 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −7.7°C | −17.4°C | −12.6°C | 17 mm | 12 cm |
| March | −0.6°C | −10.2°C | −5.5°C | 30 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 9.7°C | −1.9°C | 4.0°C | 37 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 17.4°C | 5.1°C | 11.3°C | 65 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 22.5°C | 11.4°C | 16.9°C | 80 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.4°C | 14.2°C | 19.8°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24.8°C | 12.6°C | 18.7°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.3°C | 7.7°C | 13.5°C | 48 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 10.6°C | 0.7°C | 5.7°C | 41 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 0.3°C | −8.1°C | −3.9°C | 25 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −7.3°C | −15.7°C | −11.5°C | 20 mm | 27 cm |
| Year | 8.7°C | −1.7°C | 3.5°C | 493 mm | 126 cm |
A December here can run warm or cold, its average moving by about 4.1°C; the steadiest month is July
Over 1991–2020, March saw both −34.0°C (2003) and 24.6°C (2012), the widest span of any month.
Where Portage la Prairie’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s 1991–2020 Canadian Climate Normals for Portage Southport, the nearest location with a full year of temperatures.
- Other locations: ECCC blanks a month that fails its completeness rule, so the precipitation or snowfall here comes from the next location with all twelve months.
- Comparisons: Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500, each placed by its nearest location (city totals and reserves excluded).
- Not on this page: sunshine (no 1991–2020 normals exist for it) and any altitude adjustment, since there is no elevation for the town itself.
Canadian Climate Normals 1991–2020 · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence. Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Questions about Portage la Prairie’s climate
How warm does Portage la Prairie get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.4°C.
How cold does Portage la Prairie get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −19.1°C.
How much rain and snow does Portage la Prairie get?
About 493 mm a year, rain and melted snow together. June is the wettest month (80 mm) and February the driest (17 mm).
Are these figures for Portage la Prairie itself?
Yes, measured at Portage Southport, which sits inside Portage la Prairie’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for Portage la Prairie →
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).