Nights turn raw in St. John's each January, colder than in 95% of Canadian towns
On a normal July day the thermometer tops out near 25.8°C. Its yearly rain and snow fall short of 72% of Canadian towns. Winter and summer sit 47°C apart. Have the furnace checked before October to April, the months that average under 10°C.
1991–2020 normals from ECCC’s Winnipeg Richardson (Airport) location, 7.1 km west.
A year in St. John's at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, in °C.
What stands out about St. John's’s climate
Compared with Canadian towns, with its place among towns of 2,500+ in Manitoba beside it.
What a year in St. John's feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from ECCC’s 1991–2020 normals.
About 193 frosts and 110 warm days a year
From September to May frost is routine, and in January it comes on almost every night. On about 52 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
About 519 mm of rain and snow a year
July is the wettest month and February the driest. Some 80 days a year see 1 mm of rain or snow or more.
Rain and snow by month
Millimetres
Rain alone by month
Millimetres
Snowfall: about 126 cm in a normal year
From October to May snow is likely; December is the peak, at about 27 cm.
Snowfall by month
Centimetres
Snow on the ground by month
Centimetres at month’s end
Heating a home in St. John's
91% of a year’s heating need falls between October and April. Months averaging under 10°C: October to April.
Each day the mean sits under 18°C adds its shortfall; a year’s total is its heating degree days. In heating terms, homes need more heating than 89% of Canadian towns.
Living with St. John's’s climate
What the normals mean for a garden, a day outside and the depth of winter.
Wait until about 23 May to plant out; frost tends to come back around 22 September, about 122 days later.
Afternoons of 17–27°C and nights of at least 8°C arrive in Jun, Jul and Aug.
Parks & trails →Winter brings about 86 days with a wind chill below −20.
Roughly 37 days a year feel hotter than 30 once humidity is counted.
The normals describe a typical year, not its worst days; the hazards page covers St. John's’s.
Flood & hazards →ECCC’s normals location: Winnipeg Richardson (Airport)
Winnipeg Richardson (Airport) is a composite: ECCC joins 4 stations’ readings to make its 1991–2020 normals.
| Distance from the town | 7.1 km west |
| Station altitude | 239 m |
| Completeness | meets the WMO “3 and 5” rule |
| WMO standard normals | No |
| Coldest reading, 1991–2020 | −41.8°C |
| Hottest reading, 1991–2020 | 37.8°C |
| Average wind | 17.5 km/h on average, most often from the south |
| Next-nearest location | Gimli, 79 km |
How St. John's compares
Against the 2,611 Canadian towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500 or more, each read from its own normals location; the dots are the other locations those towns use in Manitoba.
Nearby towns’ climate
Nearby places read from a different ECCC location (places on St. John's’s own would show the same figures). The nearest places to St. John's with figures are 38–46 km away.
| Town | July high | January low | Rain & snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's Winnipeg Richardson (Airport) | 25.8°C | −21.2°C | 519 mm |
| Brokenhead 38 km · Pinawa | 25.2°C 0.6°C cooler | −21.7°C 0.5°C colder | 571 mm |
| Cartier 46 km · Portage Southport | 25.4°C about the same | −19.1°C 2.1°C milder | 493 mm |
St. John's weather by month
Each month’s normals, 1991–2020: high, low, mean, precipitation and snowfall.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Rain & snow | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −11.4°C | −21.2°C | −16.3°C | 18 mm | 25 cm |
| February | −8.8°C | −19.3°C | −14.1°C | 13 mm | 12 cm |
| March | −0.9°C | −11.2°C | −6.1°C | 26 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 10.0°C | −2.5°C | 3.8°C | 33 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 18.1°C | 4.2°C | 11.1°C | 70 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 23.3°C | 10.9°C | 17.1°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25.8°C | 13.2°C | 19.5°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25.4°C | 11.9°C | 18.7°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 19.6°C | 6.9°C | 13.3°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 10.4°C | −0.2°C | 5.1°C | 38 mm | 4 cm |
| November | 0.1°C | −8.8°C | −4.4°C | 25 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −8.2°C | −17.3°C | −12.7°C | 19 mm | 27 cm |
| Year | 8.6°C | −2.8°C | 2.9°C | 519 mm | 126 cm |
The month with the widest range: March, −37.4°C to 23.7°C
Two years in three, December’s average falls within 4.1°C of its normal of −12.7°C; July keeps to within 1.4°C.
Where St. John's’s numbers come from
Averages over 30 years, not a forecast.
- Normals: ECCC’s normals for Winnipeg Richardson (Airport), 1991–2020, chosen as the nearest location with a full temperature record.
- Comparisons: Canada’s towns and neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (no city totals, no reserves), each through its own nearest location.
- 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 St. John's’s climate
How warm does St. John's get in summer?
July is the warmest month, with average highs of 25.8°C.
How cold does St. John's get in winter?
The year’s coldest nights belong to January, at about −21.2°C.
How much rain and snow does St. John's get?
A normal year brings 519 mm, snow included as water: July is wettest at 77 mm, February driest at 13 mm.
Are these figures for St. John's itself?
Nearly: Winnipeg Richardson (Airport), the location behind them, sits just beyond St. John's’s boundary.
Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada · ECCC Data Services End-use Licence Today’s forecast for St. John's →
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).